SPD: A Future Imperfect
by Wolflmg
Summary: Sequel to, SPD: The Future is Near. Will Sky make it in time before Sydney leaves for London?
1. The Awakening

_It wasn't supposed to end up this way…._ This wasn't how things were supposed to go, that was all he could think of. No words could describe all the emotions he was going through right now, or all the emotions he had been going through these past six months…..that all of them had been going through. So much had happened, so much had changed, in ways none of them ever thought possible and now the outcome of everything could no longer be denied, facts would have to be faced and they all would have to come to terms…..

Eric sat motionless in his chair next to Sky's bed, his face growing grimmer with each passing second, as Sky lay there unmoving, machines and wires of all kinds connected to his body, helping to keep him alive. The son of two of the greatest Power Rangers was heading towards death. It seemed all too impossible, you wouldn't think a son of two Rangers would ever end up in a place like this, but then again there had been Rangers long before him who had ended up this way, some even far worse …some_ didn't even survive long enough for this..._ So in all truth, not even a son of two Rangers was safe from deadly battles and explosions that had nearly killed him upon impact.

The long retired Quantum Ranger let out a heavily sigh, doing his best to keep his emotions stable, not ready to let go, even though knowing that it wasn't looking good for Sky….

The doctors had done all they could, but Sky had broken several bones and ribs, there was heavy bruising around his head, cuts and burns all over his body. He had lost a tremendous amount of blood; for a while there the doctors didn't even think they had enough for him, due to his very rare blood type. It was looking more and more likely that like his parents before him, Sky would die young. _Too young…._ Far younger than his parents had been, his father just shy of his thirtieth birthday.

It had only been a few hours since it all had happened. The battle…._everything…_ He himself still couldn't believe it, none of them could. None of it seemed possible. It had to be some dream, a nightmare he couldn't wake up from. It was something he wasn't ready to accept or believe… Couldn't believe. He wasn't ready.

"How's he doing?" asked Drake as he walked into the room, but Eric never answered him, not that he needed to. He had already known the situation was bad and getting worse by the minute. He had done all he could at the time, but he had only been able to stabilize Sky's injures enough to get him back here safely. Drake walked around to Sky's other side and took a seat, staring into the face of the man who at one time, a long time ago, had been his little boy. Now that seemed like a lifetime ago…. And in a way it was… It was a life he had long ago given up, for the sake of a promise he had made a very long time ago.

It was heartbreaking to see Sky in this condition. It was a knife into his heart, feeling that somehow this had been his fault. A feeling he was all too familiar with; over the years he had known he had made some bad decisions, a part of him always wondering if he had done things differently, if things would have turned out better or would they have been worse? He supposed he would never know for sure, but as hard as he tried not to he still found himself blaming himself for things that had happened decades ago. He folded his hands together and rested his chin on top of them. Today was six months since he had last seen Sky. A meeting that hadn't gone well…. That had been the day he had told Sky the truth….about everything. About where he really came from…..it had been more than Sky could have ever handled.

He had thought he would be able to handle it, but apparently with everything he had been through, it was just too much for him to take in or even begin to be able to accept.

"He's not going to get better, is he?" Eric had already come to the conclusion that the chances of Sky's survival were not in his favor. His injures had been too severe, they couldn't even begin to compare to the injures he had withstood all those years ago in his battle with Merlock.

"I'm going to do everything I can, Eric."

"_Everything!_" Eric shot an angry look up at Drake. He had gone through years without so much as an outburst to Drake, but now he could no longer hold his anger in. And even as it was happening he wasn't entirely sure if the person he really was angry at was Drake or himself, maybe it was just all his emotions, everything he'd been holding back, coming out at full force. "You've done enough. This is your fault!" Eric could feel his anger flowing through his veins. "If you hadn't told him, this would never have happened. If you hadn't….." Eric rose to his feet, not caring that he was shouting. "He never would have tried…" And then he could no longer hold it in. Everything just came out full force; tears streamed down his face. He wasn't ready for this….he wasn't ready to say goodbye.

Drake too felt a few tears slip through his eyes, feeling that in some way he had let Jen down. He had promised that he would keep her little boy safe, but now that boy he had promised to protect was barely hanging on by a thread. He looked over at the monitor, seeing no changes, no progress, no ounce of hope, nothing. Sky was fighting his greatest battle yet, for his life, and he was losing.

All any of them could think was: it wasn't supposed to be like this. Sky was supposed to continue on as Red Ranger, leader of A squad. He was supposed to fall in love, get married, start a family, and be able to have everything his parents always wanted him to have. _Everything_ they had always wanted.

Outside the room, down the hall, take a left and then to the right, teary-eyed over everything that was happening Hayley stared through the only window of another room in the intensive care unit. It was a small window; she couldn't see much, only that Kat was working on another young man who had been injured in the battle with Sky. It seemed that SPD would lose two Rangers.

"Mrs. Myers…."

Hayley turned her head and found Commander Cruger standing behind her. His face was sad, so much pain, he had lost so many Rangers over the years, first Andros' team, then Zhane, Wes, followed by Dash and the late A squad rangers. "Commander Cruger….."

"They're not doing so well, are they?" He hadn't even been able to bring himself into either one's room, it just hurt too much. He wasn't ready to go through it all again and this time was even worse.

"No….They're not." A few tears rolled down her cheek. "I just can't believe this is happening. After all these years, only to lose him…..lose them both." And she couldn't even begin to understand why this was happening; they had all already been through so much. Hadn't they lost enough?

The SPD base was the quietest it had ever been for as long as it had stood there. Two lives hung in the balance, no one knowing if either one would make it through the night or even the next few hours. The only sound that could be heard was the soft crying in the waiting room.

Where Z and Bridge sat on either side of Syd, holding her hands as tears rolled down her cheeks, but even they had trouble keeping it together. Sky was their friend, their leader and in a way he was their older brother. How on earth would they continue on without him?

**4 months earlier….**

They had only been dating for a little over two months now; Syd wasn't quite sure how it had happened. She thought she would never be able to admit to Sky her true feelings for him, but one day while they were still off on break from defeating Gruumm he had shown up at her door, appearing to be upset about something, and from there was when things between them had changed.

Sky had shown up at her door without warning, all he had said was that he needed to be with a friend. They had spent the whole day together, but Sky never did tell her just what had happened. At the time she didn't seem to care, she knew that when he was ready he would tell her.

She was just so happy to be spending some time alone with him. And somehow they wound up at his old home, a place he had not stepped foot in since he was fourteen. At first he had handled it very well, but then everything went downhill from there. And Syd did the only thing she could think of at the time, she wrapped her arms around him giving him the biggest hug she could. Shortly thereafter he had surprised the hell out of her by returning her embrace and not a second later their lips met into a kiss, that turned into more than just a kiss, and ever since they had been together.

Syd lay there smiling, cradled in Sky's muscular bare arms in the bedroom of his apartment; blankets were piled on top of them. She laughed every time Sky ghosted a soft kiss onto the ticklish spots on her body, and every time he kissed her lips her heart skipped a beat.

"See, isn't this much better than a afternoon workout?"

Sky grinned. "Personally I found our _activities_ somewhat of a workout, if you know what I mean."

"Sky!" She playfully swatted him. "Can't we ever do anything without you making it into a workout activity?"

"Nope." He kissed her lips lovingly and gently stroked her cheek. "Not with you as my girlfriend; it's a workout just to keep up with you."

"You're just lucky you're so cute." Syd returned his kisses, deepening them as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, fully intending to give him another one of his so-called _workouts_.

Megan opened the door to the apartment; it was Friday late afternoon. She had just gotten done with classes and her workout session over at the Academy, and this was part of the agreement for her to attend. She had to make a deal with her parents that during the weekends she would stay at Sky's apartment, if she didn't go home. She could have stayed at the Academy, but her mother preferred that she for at least some of the time be around family and even thought it might be good for Sky to have someone around. Ever since Sky's talk with Drake, he had been acting uptight and a little irritable around family.

Not that it wasn't to be expected, but he had been acting like this for the past two months and hadn't returned any of Drake's phone calls.

"Sky?" Megan set her bag down and apartment keys on the counter, as she looked around the combined kitchen and living room, but Sky was nowhere in sight in the three bedroom apartment. Sky had gotten the apartment two months ago, feeling ready to move out of the Academy's living quarters and live on his own. The only Ranger who still remained at the Academy was Bridge; Syd and Z had gotten an apartment together and then Jack and Ally were living together outside of NewTech.

"Sky?" Megan called again, but again no answer came. She knew he had to be here, she had seen both his bike and car outside in the parking lot. "Where could he be?" Megan quickly turned her head towards Sky's bedroom door, which was closed. She could faintly hear some noises coming from it, muffled laughter and light talking that she couldn't quite make out. A grin came across her face, as she looked over at the couch and saw a brightly colored woman's leather jacket lying on top of it. "I really shouldn't, but Commander Cruger did say it was important that he see Sky today."

Slowly Megan reached out to the door knob and then swung it open. "HEY GUYS!" Both Sky and Syd jumped as they along with blankets rolled off the bed away from the door. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything….' Knowing fully well she was.

"I told you we should have locked the door," exclaimed Syd as she kept the blanket close to her upper body.

Sky just looked at Syd, annoyed. "MEGAN!..." He turned to Megan giving her one of those looks she knew too well, and if her father wasn't who he was she probably would be intimated by it, but no matter what kind of look Sky would throw at her she wasn't in any way frightened by it.

She just grinned and waved, showing that she could very well be the annoying little sister he never had. "I'll just wait out in the living room and let you guys get dressed, before I give you the message Cruger gave me." She waved again before she slipped out the door closing it behind her.

"This isn't funny," exclaimed Sky, his face was beat-red and full of embarrassment, and the big grin on Syd's face wasn't helping. "I'm am going to kill her…"

Syd just grinned as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Next time you'll listen to me about locking the door."

Twenty minutes later Sky was seeing Syd out of his apartment door, but both were having a little trouble letting go through their kisses, while Megan stood a few feet away just grinning. Her parents didn't believe it when she had told them that Sky and Syd were dating, it seemed to them that Sky and dating just didn't mix, although she suspected that her father's reasons had more to do with who Syd's father was. She didn't know what had gone on between those two, but for some reason her father hated Gunnther Drew's guts. Her mother, however had other thoughts on Sky's and Syd's relationship, as if the relationship might be one-sided.

"I'll call you later." Syd looked over at Megan and waved. "See yah around, Megan." Syd then kissed Sky goodbye and closed the door behind her as she left.

"You two sure have gotten _friendlier_ since I last saw you together."

"And you need to start minding your own business!" Sky was beginning to see that Megan had picked up on her father's cocky personality and seemed to be better at it than he was. He was starting to wonder why he had even agreed with both Hayley and Eric about this arrangement with Megan, but even though she was cocky and a little annoying, he didn't mind having her around …well as long as she minded her own business. He reached onto the counter for his set of keys and started to reach for the door, but turned to her, with one of those older brotherly looks he had somehow picked up over the last couple of months. He sighed heavily, there really was no use in yelling at her, something seemed to faze her and it wasn't exactly something he wanted to bring up to her parents, not that is should matter, because he was paying the rent, they would just periodically pay for the groceries, but how do you go up to someone, and say, 'hey your kid walked in on me and my girl'. Sky just shook his head; he would just have to learn to be more careful around Megan, since she insists on being noisy.

"Do we need to talk about…..what….." He wasn't even sure how he was supposed to ask this or how to go about it, he was clearly sure that Megan's parents wouldn't be pleased with what had happened.

Megan just grinned, laughing to herself as Sky tried to explain what she had seen. "You know if you and Syd ever have kids, you're going to have to do a lot better than this, when explaining _sex_." She just shook her head, not believing the look Sky was giving her. He looked blown away, that she even knew the word. "Sky! I'm fourteen; my parents had the sex talk with me when I was ten."

"Oh. Okay, good. Then we don't need to….."

Megan just shook her head. "Nope, we're all set on that subject."

"Good. Good…" He opened the door and started to step out. "Okay, when I get back from my meeting with Cruger, we can start on dinner."

"Sounds good." She watched as Sky nodded his head and started out the door. "Ah, Sky…."

"Yes?" Sky stepped back in.

"You might want to put some pants on, while Syd may find the boxers-only look attractive, I'm pretty sure Cruger won't."

* * *

"How was your flight?" asked Commander Cruger, to a man who was in his early twenties, wearing a different type of SPD uniform than the ones that were normally seen around the base. He was very good looking, built like a warrior; there was a sort of sadness about him, but he hid it well. "No problems getting here?"

"It was fine, sir. Thank you for asking," answered the young man, as he held his composure. Though the man never had met Cruger he held him in high regard. He had heard a lot about the old commander from his previous commander who had worked with him briefly many years ago.

"Mirinoi is a pretty far off place to come to Earth." And Cruger would know; he too had made the journey from Mirinoi to Earth, close to sixteen years ago. It had been shortly after the destruction and death of his planet. He looked directly into the young man's eyes. "It must have been difficult to leave the only home you have ever known." It had been hard for him to leave his planet, but there was nothing left for him there, nothing had survived, only he and now his wife were all that remained of his home world.

"Yes, sir it was." He knew well enough that Cruger knew part of the reason he had come here. "….but I heard you could use a Blue Ranger, so here I am." He didn't want to get into too many details as to what had led him to finally come here. He would prefer to leave that subject out of this interview and most of all would just put it behind him.

"Yes." Cruger nodded his head. The young man before him definitely was qualified to come in as A squad Blue Ranger, perhaps too qualified. He had graduated at the top of his class a year early; he held all the records at Mirinoi's SPD base. He was more than just a top ranked officer; he was _the _top ranked officer. The position he had held before was a few steps down from the one he had come here to take over. "Commander Michael Corbett told me that you're one of the best he's ever seen. I think he was sorry to see you go."

The young man sighed and bowed his head down, just the mention of the name brought something out of him, it wasn't anger, but it was a name he didn't like to hear. He quickly dismissed it, not wanting to think about it. "I just needed a change, sir." He looked the old commander right in the eyes. "Thought Earth would be a good place to start."

"Yes. I see…." Cruger could tell right away that the new recruit did not want to bring up his past; in fact he was doing everything to avoid the subject. Not that it was to be unexpected, Commander Corbett had informed him about his behavior and a little of what had happened. It was even hard for him to talk about it.

"Sir! You wanted to see me," announced Sky as he joined the two in the command center, by Cruger's post.

"Yes, Lt. Tate, there is someone I'd like you to meet." Cruger moved aside so that he and the newcomer were face to face. "This is Lt. Chase Ryder, he will be taking over as Blue Ranger and be your second in command."

"It's nice to meet you, Lt. Tate, Commander Cruger has spoken very highly of you." Chase put out his hand. "I look forward to working with you."

"Likewise," Sky shook Ryder's hand firmly, not taking his eyes off of him. Sky knew there was something familiar about Lt. Ryder, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "You can call me Sky."

"Chase."

* * *

"Thanks for letting me stay here until I'm able to get settled and find my own place," said Chase as he and Sky walked into the apartment. He hadn't brought a lot with him, just a few bags and his gear.

"It's no problem." Sky showed him into the vacant bedroom, which already had a bed and dresser in it. Sky had planned to use it as a guest bedroom, but until Chase found his own place it would be his bedroom. "Besides, it's better than the rooms at the base."

Chase set his bags down and the two headed back into the living room where they found Megan sitting on the couch. Megan turned her head and glanced, definitely taking notice of Chase, she smiled brightly. "Wow, SPD sure has a lot of _hot_ officers! Now if only I was just a few years older..."

Chase grinned; he never did have trouble with the ladies liking him. Sky just rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath. "……Chase, this is Megan, she'll be staying here during the weekends sometimes."

"Nice to meet you." Chase shook her hand. "So you must be Sky's little sister?"

Sky rolled his eyes again, knowing that Megan found that amusing, as he headed into his bedroom.

"No," she giggled. "My last name is Myers….."

"Myers?" He knew that name….it took him moment to gather where he had heard that name before and then it came to him: Commander Corbett's brother had spoken of an Eric Myers, along with several other Red Rangers, and about a mission that took place on the moon. It had been many years since he had heard that story. "You wouldn't by chance be related to an Eric Myers, the Quantum Ranger, would you?"

"He's my dad."

"Really?" Chase just smiled; perhaps the universe wasn't as big as he thought it was. What were the chances of him running into the daughter of the great Eric Myers? Perhaps there was hope after all for him, to find what he is looking for. "So then how'd you end up with Mr. Personality over there?"

Megan laughed, now she really liked this guy. "That's kind of a long story…but the short version is, my parents became Sky's guardians after his grandpa died. I guess they kind of adopted him."

"Nothing wrong with being adopted." Chase ran his hand over the back of his head. "Whatever happened to his parents?"

."Sky's parents died when he was just a kid, his dad and my dad were best friend, worked in SPD together, up until an alien killed Sky's dad. I think his name was Merlock."

"Merlock?" That was another name he knew all too well. Though he had never faced the alien fugitive, he knew Commander Corbett and his team nearly lost their lives while trying to arrest him; ultimately they had been unsuccessful in arresting him and Merlock escaped, making his way to Earth where he would later kill a young commander before finally being arrested. "Wait….is Sky's dad Wesley Collins?"

Megan nodded her head and could see he was confused about the last name. "Yeah, the name thing gets me too. I don't know why he doesn't have Collins as his last name; I know my parents know the reason, but they won't tell me."

"…..So how does pizza sound to you two?" announced Sky as he rejoined the two in the living room, fully intending to turn the conversation around and get off the name subject, as to why he and his father didn't share the same last name. Personally he preferred the reason he had come up with as a child, to tell the truth.


	2. Relationships

He tossed and turned violently in bed, kicking most of the covers off, clenching and quivering. His face tensed up in a frantic horror and his body was covered in a thick layer of sweat. His heart was racing, pounding rapidly against his chest; he cried out, nearly jumping up in a fright, eyes wide open, he felt a rush come over him. He turned over towards his trash can, spitting up. It took a moment for him to calm himself down; as his breathing began to steady, slowly it began to lessen and he felt his heartbeat return to normal. Chase looked over at his clock; it was 3:00 AM. He ran his hand over his face; it was drenched in sweat. "Ah man, not again…." He pulled off the rest of the sheets and headed out of his room.

Megan woke up to the sounds of footsteps and the front door opening. She looked over at her clock; it was 3:03 AM, still pretty early for anyone to be getting up. She knew that Sky liked to get up early and go for a run, but that normally wasn't until six in the morning. Curious, she crawled out of bed and decided to investigate, walking past Chase's room to see his door wide open and bed empty. She could hear the soft sounds of Sky breathing from his room, sleeping soundly.

Chase stood outside, hanging by the apartment's balcony, just staring off into the night-covered sky and feeling the cool breeze blow against him, cooling him down and bringing some ease to the heart-wrenching nightmare that had interrupted his sleep. He ran his hand through his damp hair before digging his hand into the pocket of his pants and pulling out a small container. He opened it and popped a few pills into his mouth.

Not too far away, hidden behind a wall, Megan watched him. "Now what's he taking?" She tried to concentrate on the small container, but couldn't see what he had taken; it was too dark to tell.

Feeling as though he was being watched, Chase turned his head, but Megan had already quickly ducked out of sight. The new Blue Ranger once again looked off to the night sky sights, feeling a sort of peace come over him; staring off to the stars, maybe even searching for the home he had left behind. Already the dream was beginning to fade, for now that is….. He knew it would only be a matter of time until he would have it again. He only hoped that it wouldn't be until he had his own place where he wouldn't have to go off and hide, to get away. He wasn't quite ready to share his experience with anyone. He would much rather just keep it to himself and put it all behind him. This was his chance to start over, on everything…..

It was morning; the guys and Megan sat around the table eating their breakfast and reading the paper. Megan kept on looking at Chase as he would eat his cereal and read the paper, as if she were trying to read him or see if she could figure out what he had taken last night. If Chase noticed her looking at him strangely he made no point to show it. He folded up the paper and set it on the table.

"Well, I'm going to go for a run…." Once he took care of his dishes he was out the door.

"What was all that about?"

"Huh?" Megan turned her head and looked to Sky who was getting up from his seat, bowl in hand, heading towards the sink.

"You looking at Chase like he's a wanted criminal."

"I saw him take something in the middle of the night, some kind of pills."

"And that's your reason for looking at him oddly?" Sky just shook his head and began to wash the dirty dishes.

"Well, shouldn't we ask him? He could be addicted……"

"…._We_ aren't going to say anything." Sky dried off his hands. "It was probably just some aspirin." And even if it wasn't, it wasn't something Sky wanted to get involved with. He had his own problems to deal with, he didn't have time to worry about someone else's. Not to mention the fact that when Megan wasn't being her cocky little self, she was being just a little too nosy. "Besides, I've told you before to mind your own business…." He gave her one of his hard glares before heading to the bathroom to shower.

Megan just shook her head. In the pit of her stomach something told her that there was something not quite right with Chase and she was determined to find out what that was, whether Sky liked it or not.

After a quick shower, Sky was dressed and ready to head out when all of a sudden Sam appeared in front of him, scaring the crap out of him when he was not expecting the young boy to appear out of nowhere. "Sam!" yelled Sky. "What have I told you about teleporting?"

"….Ah, not to do it, unless it's an emergency."

"And…" Sky narrowed his eyes, looking down at the red-haired boy. He couldn't even count how many times this has happened or how many times afterwards he had told Sam not to teleport in on people, for this exact reason. Sam used to be such a cooperative kid, but then he started hanging out with Megan, who had gotten him into trouble numerous times.

"To use the front door when entering a room." Sam shrugged his shoulders, giving Sky an innocent look that he had always been so good at, although his boyish charm always played better on Z since nothing ever seemed to get past Sky. "Sorry, I must have forgot."

"I've told you over a dozen times." Sky reached for the keys to his bike and grabbed for his helmet. "You didn't forget."

"Oh, lighten up, Sky." Megan came in from her room. "It's not like he teleported in on anything _personal_…." She grinned; just knowing it irritated the hell out of him. It had taken her long enough to know which buttons to push with Sky and she wouldn't miss a opportunity to get a rise out of him.

Sky abruptly laughed. "Very funny," knowing that she was just trying to get at him. He swore she was more and more like her father every day, maybe even worse. "Do you think you two can stay out of trouble for a few hours?"

"Of course." Megan wrapped her arm around her young friend's shoulder. "Don't we always…." Thinking about it for a second and seeing the look on Sky's face that said otherwise, "You know, don't answer that. Now you go off and have some fun with Syd."

Sky just shook his head and looked to Sam, knowing he could count on Sam for not suggesting any kind of trouble. "Sam, don't let her talk you into anything that you wouldn't normally do."

"Sure, you can count on me, boss." Sam gave him a thumbs-up.

Without another word Sky was out the door, just hoping he wouldn't get any calls from the neighbors about any trouble from the duo. Ever since Megan had joined the Academy she and Sam had become inseparable, and the slight age difference of Megan being older didn't seem to matter.

Once Sky was out of sight, a big grin came over Megan's face as she stared at her young friend with one of her cunning troublesome looks. Sam started backing away, not liking it one bit. "Oh no, I just got done promising Sky that there wouldn't be any trouble."

"Yes. You promised….." she pointed at him, "But I didn't; now here's what we're going to do….."

"Why do I let you talk me into these things?"

"Oh chill out, it's nothing bad…."

"That's what you said the last time…." Recalling the last time she had come up with one of her crazy ideas.

* * *

"What eating you?" exclaimed Z, as she opened the door to hers and Syd's apartment for Sky, who looked like he was about to explode.

"Oh just Megan, being a pain in the ass _again_…."

"A girl after my own heart." Z grinned. She had come to like Megan very much. There weren't too many people in this world who were bold enough to do whatever it took to get a rise of of Sky. "I just love that kid."

"Yeah, you would," muttered Sky.

"Ouch. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," said Z as she closed the door, as Sky stepped inside.

"She was so much easier to get along with when she was seven."

Z crossed her arms, loving every bit of this. "Hmmm….Some would say the same about you."

"Great. If I don't get it from one I get it from the other…."

"Oh, lighten up, Sky." Z walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You know we all love you."

Sky just let out a sigh, as he spotted Syd coming from her room. He was more than just relieved to see her, just wanting a couple of hours without any nonsense. "You ready to go, Syd?"

"Yep." Syd smiled as she walked up to him, giving him a quick kiss on the lips, as she wrapped her arms around him.

Sky was a little slow to respond as he put his arms around her. He turned his head away when he noticed Z was watching them. "Okay, let's go." He took Syd's hand and headed out the door.

Z watched them go, her face frowning; while she was entirely sure that Syd was committed to this relationship she wasn't so sure if Sky was. Something just didn't seem right to her, something just felt off. She would have pondered a little longer, but her cell phone began to ring. It was Jack.

"Hey, bro…."

* * *

"Tell me again why we're following him? He doesn't look suspicious," announced Sam, as he and Megan ducked behind a bush, watching as Chase did a full workout in the park of stretches, kicks, and punches. "Besides, didn't you say he seemed like a nice guy?"

"It's always the nice ones you got to watch out for." Megan watched closely as Chase took a sip of his water.

Sam got a grin on his face. "Wait a minute?... You like him, don't you….?"

"Shut up!" Megan slugged Sam in the shoulder. "And I do not; beside he's too old for me."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you still can't like him,_ like him_."

"I don't like him like that. This isn't one of those kinds of things. I'm not like _you_, I prefer to go for guys my own age," exclaimed Megan, as she referred to the slight crush Sam had on Z.

"Z is just a friend." Sam crossed his arms against his chest.

"Yeah!" Megan eyed him. "Then how'd you know I was talking about her?"

Sam knew it was useless to argue with Megan; she hated to be wrong and would do whatever she could to have the last word. He sighed and turned his attention back to where they had been watching Chase. "Hey, where'd he go?"

Megan looked too, but couldn't find the new Blue Ranger anywhere in sight. "I don't know….He was just right….."

"Looking for someone?"

Their hearts skipped a beat. Sam and Megan glanced at each other cautiously before turning their heads around to find Chase. "It was her idea!" Sam pointed at Megan, fully intending to get out of trouble this time around.

"Sam!"

Chase just shook his head and grinned, as if he was used to childish mischief. "So how 'bout one of you explain why you've been following me…" He wasn't surprised in the least to see the surprised and confused looks on their faces; they probably had thought they had done a good job at keeping out of sight, but the truth was he had known for a while that they had been following him. "Well….? I'm waiting."

* * *

"Uncle Tommy!" shouted little Wesley, as the seven-year-old jumped into his uncle's arms the moment he walked through the door, nearly knocking the long retired Ranger to the floor. "Did you bring me anything?"

"Wes!" scolded his father, but in a calm way. He knew his son was just happy to see Tommy; it had been a while since they all had seen him.

"Well…." Tommy set Wes down and threw a grin at Eric before facing his little nephew. "Why don't you go head to my truck, see if you find something you like?"

"Okay!" Wes was out the door in a flash. Not a second later Hayley and Erin came down the stairs with bright smiles on their faces.

Tommy caught Erin's eyes. "Erin, you might want to go help your brother out; it's for both of you."

"What is it?" Erin exclaimed as she headed out the door after her brother excitedly.

"Yes…." Eric wasn't so sure if he was going to like this gift. He knew Tommy well enough to know when he was up to something. "What exactly did you bring back with you…?"

"Oh, just a little something…."

"……It's a puppy!" They heard the two shout happily from outside, followed by several barks.

Tommy, Eric and Hayley sat out back watching as Wes and Erin played with their new puppy, a golden retriever. When Tommy had heard from Megan when he last talked to her on the phone about how devastated little Wes was about Trip, their old dog they had gotten from Sky, passing away, he couldn't help but want to fill the void the boy had been feeling.

"I can't believe you got them a dog. I just got done burying the last one…." Although Eric would never admit it, he had become very attached to Trip the Great Dane over the years; he wasn't sure if it was because of Sky or if it had to do with Wes. Trip had been the dog that Wes had paid for, just a week before he was murdered, for Sky's seventh birthday. But then again, it was nice to see his son happy again. It's never easy to lose a pet, in fact losing Trip had been both his son's and daughter's first experience of losing a loved one.

"Oh, come on Eric, they named it after you," Tommy grinned.

"That's only because Rex sounds better than Dragon."

"Well, we're very thankful for the puppy." Hayley placed her hand on Eric's knee. "Aren't we, honey?"

"Yeah. I guess we'll keep it; can't take it away from the kids now."

"So how's Alex….Drake been?" asked Tommy, now wanting to turn this conversation into something a little more pressing.

"Okay. Sky still hasn't returned any of his calls," sighed Eric, though he too had wanted Sky to know the truth, he was beginning to wonder if that in itself was a mistake, considering what had come out of it.

Tommy leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of his beer. "It's a lot to deal with. I'm sure Sky will come around. He always does."

"Yeah." Eric finished off his beer and went for another from the cooler by their feet. "So how are things going with you and Kim, did you pop the question?" asked Eric, wanting to turn the tables. He knew it had to be coming up soon, Tommy and Kim weren't getting any younger; they both were now in their early forties.

Tommy didn't answer; the smile that had been on his face disappeared as he took another sip from his beer. He and Kim had started dating about six months after her husband Pete Cooper's death, the result of a water-skiing accident. They had been dating now for a little over two years on and off, while Tommy still kept his job part time at Reefside High, teaching off a video feed. Things had been great for a while, but lately…..

"Tommy?" Hayley recognized that look. 'Is everything all right? Kim and Junior are okay, aren't they?" Junior was Kim and Pete's fifteen year old son. Though there were a few problems in the beginning, Tommy and Junior had a pretty good relationship with each other. He knew he would never be able to replace Pete, but the two had done 'father-son' things together, going on fishing trips together.

"Kim's fine…..at least that's what she says…" Tommy stared off, watching Wes and Erin, watching them laughing and rolling around in the grass with Rex. It nearly brought tears to his eyes; the aching in his heart that he had hoped to leave behind him in Florida had apparently traveled back with him. He felt numb inside, as he swallowed a lump in the back of his throat. And then he could no longer hold it in, as tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Now I know something is wrong." Eric knew this wasn't like Tommy, to just break down, not unless it was for a very good reason. "You can tell us, we're all friends here."

When Tommy didn't answer, Hayley got up from her seat and went and knelt in front of Tommy, taking his hands in hers. "Tommy, what happened?"

He took a moment, wanting to gather some composure; he had already shed numerous tears over this for the past few weeks. The whole trip back home had been nothing but tears. "Kim….she was pregnant…." He nearly choked on his own words. "But a few weeks ago, she had a miscarriage, we lost the baby…." All he wanted was to start a family, and now….his unborn child was dead and his relationship with Kim had been torn.

"I'm so…. so sorry, Tommy." Hayley wrapped her arms around her old friend, letting him lean on her, letting her take care of him.

Eric sat uncomfortably in his seat, this wasn't exactly the kind of news he had been expecting. None of them had even known Kim was pregnant, which led Eric to believe she must not have been pregnant for very long, they had only just talked to Tommy a couple of months ago on the phone and he hadn't mentioned anything about it.

"Daddy, what's wrong with Uncle Tommy?" asked Wes, as he and his sister walked over with Rex right at their feet. They had seen their uncle break down from a distance and watched as their mother consoled him.

"Something bad happened, didn't it?" said Erin, though she didn't know exactly what was wrong, she was old enough to know that something was very wrong with her uncle; she had never in her life seen him so sad or even cry.

Eric, knowing this wasn't the time or place to tell them what had happened, decided it would be best just to let his wife and Tommy have some time alone together without interruptions. She was better at things like this. "Why don't I take you two out for some ice cream, let Mom and Tommy talk for a while?"

**Later that night…..**

Hayley was already in bed by the time Eric had gotten back with the kids from ice cream and a trip to the pet store to get some things for Rex. Tommy had already gone back to his house for the night.

"Thanks for taking the kids out," smiled Hayley as Eric climbed into bed with her.

"Thought you two could use some time alone together." Not that he wanted to bring it up again, but he had gathered that Tommy might be back in Reefside a lot longer than he had been in the last two years. "What'd he say?"

"After they lost the baby, they tried to make things work between them, but it just all fell apart. Kim doesn't want to talk about it, wants to act like it didn't happen. Tommy did everything he could, until Kim asked him to leave…..said it just hurt too much to be together." Hayley bowed her head down, sighing, feeling an overwhelming amount of sadness come over her, a sadness she hadn't felt in a very long time.

"Hey, you okay?" Eric wrapped his arm around his wife. "We'll get Tommy through this; he's gotten us through some tough times."

"I know." She forced a smile, and kissed Eric on the lips. "….It's just I know how badly he's always wanted to be a father."

"I know…" Eric sighed. He considered himself lucky; back when he had started out as a Silver Guardian he had never thought he would settle down, get married, have kids, a dog. Not with the kind of life he had had growing up. He had gotten lucky, getting all he had now. "So did Megan call?"

"Yes. She told me to tell you hello and she'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Did she say anything else?"

"They have a new roommate, Chase Ryder, he's the new Blue Ranger come all the way from Mirinoi."

"Say anything about Sky?"

"Just that he's his usual charming self and he's still dating Syd."

"You don't sound too thrilled about that….I mean, I'm not too excited about him intermixing with the Drews, either." It wasn't so much that he didn't like Syd; she was all right in his book. Her father, on the other hand, was nothing more than a rat as far as he was concerned.

"No…It's fine. Sky seems happy when he's with her."

"Then what is it?" asked Eric. Ever since they had learned the two had been dating he had noticed that Hayley never did seem really positive on the relationship.

"It's nothing." She kissed him quickly and forced a smile to hide whatever feelings she had about Sky and his present relationship. "Let's just go to sleep."

Eric decided just to leave it at that; it was late and they both were tired.  
"All right."


	3. A Time of Letting Go Part 1

After her talk with Chase and learning the real reason behind the pills, Megan still suspected he was leaving a few things out. It had to be something more than just trouble sleeping at night, but she decided for now that would have to be enough.

Megan and Chase had become quick friends, for some reason that Chase couldn't quite figure out. He found that it was somewhat easy to talk about things with Megan.

"So is Sam kind of like your boyfriend?" asked Chase, as he continued to do his push-ups on his bedroom floor.

"No!" Megan protested as she turned to him, giving a disgusted kind of look. "Where would you get an idea like that?"

"Just curious. Seems like a nice kid."

Megan just shook her head; as far as she was concerned Sam and she were just friends. He seemed more like a younger brother or cousin, than someone who she would ever be interested in as more than just a friend. Then again she was only fourteen, still too young to be thinking about boys in that way; as far as her father was concerned she wasn't going to date anyone for a very long time. She wondered over to his dresser. "Are these your parents?" asked Megan, picking up a picture of a young couple from his dresser.

"Yeah." Chase had gotten up and walked up behind her, taking the picture from her. His face was sad looking at it, as he rubbed his thumb over their faces.

That was when Megan realized something, something she didn't have to ask or needed him to say. Chase's parents were dead. The look on his face had said it all, perhaps that was what made it so easy for him to leave his home planet and come here. She turned away and her eyes fell on another picture, one with Chase in it with a beautiful young woman, his arms wrapped tightly around her, along with one teenage boy and two younger boys. "Who are they?"

Chase set the picture of his parents down and looked at the other picture. For a moment he just stared at it, the smiling happy faces; it even brought a smile to his face. "That's my fiancée Callie and her brother Michael, and their two little cousins, Dean and Dylan."

"You're engaged?" Megan turned to him, slightly surprised since he had never mentioned it before. "Did Callie come with you to Earth?"

At first Chase didn't answer, as if trying to figure out a way of saying this and then replied. "Yeah, she came with me…."

"Then where is she, why isn't she staying here in the apartment?" She could go on with more and more questions…

"..She wanted to be someplace else." Chase smiled faintly.

"You must miss her."

Chase nodded his head and answered. "….every day." He bit his lip. "But I'll be seeing her soon."

"That's great. I bet she'll be happy to see you."

"Megan, you should get packed up to head back to the Academy tomorrow," they heard Sky holler.

* * *

Sky and Chase were sparring in the SPD Academy's gym, giving each other a hard and almost exhausting workout. The other Rangers, Syd, Z and Bridge, watched the two, amazed how they seemed to be able to match each other move for move.

It had only been a couple of days since the other Rangers were introduced to their new teammate and second in command. Chase seemed well enough like a good guy to them, but did seem to be a fairly private person. He didn't seem to talk about himself, and if anyone ever brought up what it was like to live and grow up on Mirinoi, he would find a way to change the subject if things started to get into depth. Which is why they could all see why he and Sky seemed to get along, though Chase did seem to have the friendlier personality; both of them were pretty quiet when it came to talking about themselves.

"Not bad, but don't think I'll go easy on you just because it's your birthday," grinned Chase, as he threw a few punches into Sky's face.

Sky easily blocked them; he had trained for years and had become an excellent fighter. It wasn't until Chase had showed up that he had any real competition. "Wouldn't expect you to." Sky tossed in a few of his own punches followed by a round kick that was headed towards Chase's head, but Chase was ready for him and quickly countered the kick as he dodged the blow to his head, catching Sky unguarded and landing him flat on the mat.

"Nice one, Chase, it's not every day someone gets the best of Sky," laughed Z.

"Not bad, you almost had me," said Chase, as he held out his hand to Sky, to help him up.

"Thanks." Sky took Chase's hand. "So, ready for round two?" asked Sky as he got into a fighting stance. "This time, you'll be the one going down."

"We'll see just have to see about that."

The two were about to go at it again, when…… _"Would Lt. Tate please report to the Command Base. Lt. Tate, report to the Command Base."_

"We'll finish this later." Sky eyed Chase and then caught his towel that Syd tossed at him. "I'll meet up with you guys later." Sky headed out of the gym to go see what Commander Cruger wanted.

Once Sky was gone, the others decided they should take a break from their workout routine and get reenergized, and all headed to the break room where they could wind down. Bridge and Z walked over to one of the tables to eat, while Syd planted herself on the couch with a good book. Chase took his seat, talking with one of the B squad cadets and giving him pointers on fighting techniques.

"So what do you think Chase's story is?" asked Bridge as he talked quietly with Z.

"Beats me, the guy's harder to read than Sky is." Z shrugged her shoulders. "I even asked Jack if he ever heard of him. Supposedly he was Mirinoi's top ranking A squad Red Ranger, in line to be a commander."

Bridge finished taking a bite of his toast. "Then why'd he leave to come here for a lower rank? It would be like…."

Z, seeing that Bridge was going to go into one of his elaborate explanations, decided to jump in with a response. "I know it doesn't make any sense." She took a sip of her water. "Definitely not the kind of thing you would expect. Look at Sky, this wouldn't be the kind of thing he would do." She was recalling how it was during the first few months of them being Rangers and how upset Sky had been that he was given a lower rank than he thought he had deserved.

"Did Jack know anything else?"

Z shook her head. "No. ….You know how good he was about keeping up with the galactic reports."

Bridge nodded his head, knowing that on a few occasions Jack had slacked off on his duty time. That was when Jack had realized that he didn't want to work with SPD or be a Ranger, that he wanted to help the world in another way. The green Ranger looked over to Chase, whose back was to him. There was one very easy way to figure out what Chase's story was and he was the only person who could figure it out. He started to slip off his glove…..

"What are you doing?" Z placed her hand over his gloves.

"I'm going to read his aura…."

"No, you're not…." Z shook her head.

"It's not dangerous. I could even try it on you, so you can see." Bridge smiled. "Maybe I could just see what you have been doing these past couple of months, that secret mission that Cruger sent you on."

"You're not going to do it Bridge, it's rude and an invasion of privacy."

"I don't seem to recall anyone having any objections when it happened with the former A Squad."

"That was different. And besides, you saw it with your mind."

"Fine. I'll use my mind." Bridge leaned his head forward, getting ready to concentrate, when Z firmly pushed her green friend's head back.

"You're not going to do that either."

* * *

Sky entered the Command Center and walked over to Commander Cruger. "Sir!" he saluted. 'You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I did." Cruger nodded his head, letting Sky know that he could be at ease. The two had a long history, with a lot of bumpy roads, but through it all the two had developed great respect for each other, even though at times they still did disagree. Cruger knew his relationship with Sky was much different than with the others and a lot of it had to do with Wes, Sky's father. He felt somewhat responsible for the boy and at times might even protect him far more than he should. He knew Sky was quite old enough to be taking care of himself and did not need an old dog looking out for him.

He had learned that lesson back when he had withheld information about who was responsible for his father's death, when he had sent Sky to be face to face with him to get some information about a troublesome alien. That had been the day when Cruger realized he could no longer look at Sky as a boy, but as a man who was ready to know the truth about what had happened to his father. So from that day on Cruger had made a promise not to keep anything from Sky that concerned him. "Before I start on why I called you down here, I wanted to wish you a happy birthday."

"Thank you, sir," answered Sky. Even to this day his birthday didn't mean anything to him; it just was another day to him. His father had died a few days before, and then learning the truth about himself, about where he came from and how he came to be, he wasn't sure what his real birthday was. As far as he was concerned he was twenty-one today, a year older than he was yesterday.

Cruger nodded his head, he had known for years that Sky never was one to celebrate his birthday, so he knew not to make too much of a big deal out of it, but he had wanted to say something to try to avoid the reason why he had called him down. This was going to be somewhat of a difficulty for Sky to hear, even though he had dealt with it months ago, but still…. "I wanted you to hear from me before you heard it on the news about how Dru's trial went…"

Dru had been Sky's old friend who he had met at the Academy years ago when he had first joined. The two had become fast friends, but years later Dru would betray SPD. In fact he had been against them the whole time, working with Gruumm and Broodwing. He had nearly killed Cruger, but while on a mission he did kill another cadet, Marcos Jones. That had definitely put a strain on their friendship when Sky had learned the truth about him.

Sky didn't answer, knowing what the jury and judge had decided. Dru had committed murder, attempted murder and treason; there was little hope for his old friend. Especially when Dru would not accept Cruger's bargain of a lesser crime and being placed in a secured living environment. It had been because Cruger has been unable to help the others, the former A Squad who as children had been abducted and witnessed the deaths of their families. The same thing had happened to Dru. He had felt guilty and maybe responsible, feeling as though he should have seen it somehow.

"He was sentenced to life in prison and is being sent to the Nebula Containment Center." Cruger waited a moment to see if Sky would respond but he never did, just continued to keep his face firm and strong. "I did recommend against the death penalty, and they accepted…"

"I see, sir."

Cruger sighed. "He's scheduled to leave at 1500 hours."

"Was there anything else, sir?"

"No, that was it." Cruger didn't know what Sky would do with the information; he knew this would be likely Sky's only chance at seeing his former friend one last time. "You're free to go."

"Sir." Sky saluted once more before leaving the Command Center.

"You think he'll go see him?" asked Cruger.

"Hard to say," answered Kat, as she stepped away from her work. "No one really knows how much a friendship can withstand…." She recalled the many times she had seen the two together, laughing and goofing off; they were the best of friends, almost like brothers. It seemed like nothing could ever come between them, but something had. Sky had been placed at a crossroads where he had to choose between duty or friend, and as hard as it was, he had to choose the former.

"Yes, that is true…." Cruger sighed, recalling how his one-time friend General Benaag had bitterly turned against him and eventually would betray him in the most unimaginable way. He pushed the memories away, no longer wanting to wallow in the past. He had done that for far too many years. This was his time to be starting over with his wife, to begin again. He faced Kat. "Has there been any more sighting of the _Phantom_?"

Kat shook her head. "No. It's been pretty quiet." Over the last couple of months there had been several bystanders throughout the galaxy saying they had all seen what they described as a Phantom: a sort of quick blur that showed up in the nick of time, but then disappeared before anyone could get a good look. "You think it's Clifford Chan, don't you?"

"It's possible, if our suspicious are correct and he is the son of the Phantom Ranger, then he would have had the ability to survive."

Kat smiled faintly, knowing that Cruger would like to talk to him, help him… "Even if it is him, you know he won't talk to you. What happened to him….the things he's seen…done…" Kat licked her lips.

"I know. It's just as they call him, _Phantom_, wandering, looking to make amends for all he has done." Cruger knew it was a big burden for the twenty-three year old man to carry, one he knew he would carry all his life.

* * *

Sky stood at the front entrance of the prison gate, as if pondering whether or not he should go in. What would be the point? It wasn't like Dru would be glad to see him. He hadn't been happy all those months ago, after Gruumm had been defeated. But maybe this was something he had to do for himself, maybe this was what he needed to be able to let go. Taking a deep breath…..

"You were the last person I expected to see." Dru looked up at Sky. "But then again I expected no less, you always were predictable." He smirked. "It won't be long until you'll be where I am now…."

"I'll never end up like you, Dru. I'll never be where you are."

"You say that now. But one day, one day will come, when you've had it with SPD, with Cruger, and you'll go after what you really want. And you won't give a _damn_ what happens."

"I can guarantee that day will never come. I will never betray SPD or Cruger."

"We'll see…."

Sky held back his anger and took a deep breath. He didn't want to fight, all he wanted was closure, so he could finally let go and move on with his life. "I just wanted to come here and say goodbye. …..We were friends."

"'Were' being the keyword there," answered Dru coolly, not seeming to care or be grateful that Sky had decided to show up when he had every reason not to.

Sensing he was unwelcome, "…You know what, have a nice life Dru. I'm sure you'll be very happy behind bars…." Sky turned away and started to stomp out.

"…..Happy Birthday, Sky," called out Dru, there was a hint of remorse in his voice, knowing that this would be the last time he would be able to say it. He knew this would be the very last time that he would ever see Sky, because where he was going there was no going back.

Sky turned back briefly, taking one last look at his old friend, knowing this really was goodbye. How had this happened? How had two people who once had been like brothers turned against each other, each on opposite sides? Would he ever really understand Dru's betrayal? Sky said no words; there was nothing left to say, he had said all he could, because no matter what he said Dru would find some way to twist everything around.

* * *

A man stood at the foot of the grave of a young woman. Cassie Chan, March 8th 1980 - June 17th 2006. He just stood there, staring at the grave that belonged to the young woman, who had never been able to live a full life, who had experienced so much pain, first with the murder of her lover and the believed death of her young son. She had never known the truth, that he had been alive all these years. Perhaps that was a good thing, better to think he was dead than in the hands of a monster, doing his bidding.

Cliff knelt at his mother's grave; he hadn't known her for long. She wasn't ever really pregnant with him. Eltarian children at the moment of being conceived show up in a spark of golden light, which is why they mature much faster during childhood. He was born shortly after the great battle that ranged throughout the universe. Not many knew of his existence, only a chosen few, his parents and then his mother's closest friends, the other Rangers.

"I vow to make amends for my sins, Mother." He traced her name with his finger. "Wherever there is evil, I will go and I will not stop, not until there is peace or until I take my final breath." Though he could not be killed easily, it did not mean that he couldn't die. His human half did make him vulnerable to such things. Even his father, who was full-blooded, had died. The former yellow A Squad ranger stood up, dusted his pants off and reached for his morpher.

"Going somewhere?"

Cliff did not make a move, not needing to know who the voice belonged to, he had already known. The voice had been all over, keeping out of sight, believing that he did not know it was there. Today would be the first time she would get a good look at his face, being able to prove all the suspicions that he knew were going on. "I must continue my mission." He turned to face her, the young woman, his former counterpart. "And you must remain here, for where I go, I go alone."

"You don't have to, we can help you," pleaded Z. For the last couple of months she had been tracking Cliff, going to the places where people had believed they had seen the Phantom.

"There is no help for me."

"What about friends? Everyone needs a friend."

"Where I go, it is better I have no friends, no attachments, nothing holding me back."

"Everyone needs a friend." Z walked up to him, his face was so sad and lost. It was a look she knew all too well, because there was a time when that was what she felt like, until she met Jack and soon afterwards the other Rangers. She didn't know what it was about him that attracted her to him; maybe it was that they shared some kind of connection of knowing what it is like to be lost. She gently ran her hand across his face.

It had been so long since he had felt any sort of caring gentle touch; it was full of kindness and maybe even love. And though his heart told him to stay, he could not. He stepped back, brushing her off. "Please do not follow me anymore, Z, tell Commander Cruger I wish not to be found." And with that said he disappeared in a flash of bright light.


	4. A Time of Letting Go Part 2

"He wants to be left alone, sir," announced Z, as she reported her encounter with Cliff Chan, the former yellow A squad ranger, whose teammates had died months before at the hands of Gruumm. Their bodies had all since been returned back to the planets where they all had been born and buried next to their families.

Cruger could understand that, but at the same time still wanted to help Cliff in any way he could. He had been unable to help the others and Dru wouldn't take his help. He had hoped that things could be different with Cliff; the young man would be a great asset to have. He had already been one, helping defeat Gruumm. "Did he indicate anything about where he was going?"

"No, sir." Z shook her head and looked her Commander square in the eye. "And even if he did, I would respect his wishes." She was recalling when there had been a time in her life when she wished not to be found.

"Perhaps, but I do have other reasons and concerns for wanting to meet with him….." Though he knew that Cliff was no longer on the side of evil, that didn't quite mean that he wasn't a threat; he had spent his whole childhood in the grasp of Gruumm, and he had witnessed the deaths of his father, his teammates, and had done many horrible things. Things you only see in your nightmares.

Z could have taken that personally, whether it was due to her actions in the past for her own crimes or whether it was the sort of bond, a connection she had somehow developed with Cliff, she didn't know. "He's not a danger, sir. He could have done harm to me, but he didn't."

"I see." Cruger nodded his head and clasped his hands behind his back, whether it was because he really believed in her judgment or if he somehow knew that she wasn't going to be judgmental, he was beginning to wonder if she had somehow developed some sort of feelings for Cliff. It wasn't uncommon for someone to become attached to the subject they had been assigned to. He had seen it happen more than once in his career, even with himself. His wife had at one time been his assignment, he had been her bodyguard and as time went on he had fallen in love with her. "Thank you for the information."

* * *

Chase was working at the apartment table, going through some documented files, when there was a knock at the door. He looked at his watch; it was 7:00 pm, a little too early for Sky to be back from his birthday date with Syd, and it couldn't be Megan because she was staying in the Academy dorms. The knock came again. Realizing that it wasn't going to be going away, Chase closed the folder of documents. "Coming!"

He opened the door and was faced with someone with two large grocery bags in their arms; a second later a little boy came zooming in as if he was on a sugar rush. "Wesley!" scolded Hayley as she nearly lost her balance and dropped the bags. Thankfully Chase was able to catch them.

"Here, I got them." He took the bags and set them on the counter.

"Thank you." Hayley smiled and turned her attention back to her young son, giving him the mother of all mother looks.

"Sorry, Mommy." Wesley put on his boyish charm, which had always worked in the past for getting him out of trouble. "I love you." He winked and quickly gave her a big hug before she could say anything and then made his way over to the TV.

Hayley just shook her head, he had done it again. Her son definitely was on the road to being a heartbreaker.

"Quite the little charmer, isn't he?"

Releasing that Chase was looking at her and probably having no clue who she was or why she was here, she turned to the young man, looking at him apologetically. "Oh, I'm so sorry, you must think I'm some crazy woman coming in here without any reason." She put out her hand. "I'm Hayley Myers, Megan's mom, and you must be Chase."

"I thought you might be." He shook her hand. "You have your daughter's beautiful smile."

Hayley smiled, and she thought her son wasn't the only charmer around here. It definitely wasn't what she was expecting out of Chase; from what Megan had told her he was just as hard working as Sky was, but with a little more relaxed outlook. "Thank you, Megan forgot to mention that you were such a charmer…."

Chase had to laugh at that. "Yeah, well one of use has to be, with Sky around…."

"Speaking of Sky, where is our birthday boy?"

"He's out with Syd, he protested against it, but she somehow convinced him to go out with her. I'll be taking him out for a drink when they get back."

"It's good to see that he's opening up some." But there was something hidden in the way she said it.

"Yeah… His uncle called for him, Drake I think it was."

Hayley let out a sigh, knowing that at least at this point no good would come out of it. "Yeah, Drake's been trying to get a hold of Sky for a while now." She had known he was pretty broken up about how things between him and Sky had gone, but at the same time no one was expecting Sky to have taken it well.

"Did the two have some sort of falling out?" Chase did recall a few things that Megan had said about how Drake and Sky were with each other and it didn't sound like a great relationship to him, but he didn't really know much about it so he couldn't be sure about anything.

"Something like that." Hayley looked over at her son, who was glued to the TV. She didn't want to get too in depth about the falling out between Drake and Sky. It had been bad, so bad that Sky had taken off for a couple of days.

Seeing that she didn't want to stay on that subject and having a full understanding of situations that involved wanting to keep certain things to yourself, Chase turned to another topic they could discuss. "So the groceries……"

"Oh, they're for you boys…." Hayley turned back to Chase. "Wes and I were in town for his school's fieldtrip to the zoo, and I thought I'd just drop on by, was hoping to catch Sky."

"I'll be sure to let him know you stopped by, and thank you for the groceries."

"Oh, don't mention it. It's the least I can do; you two do have to put up with my daughter. _I _know she can be a handful." She patted him on the arm.

"She's no trouble, glad to have her around." Chase smiled, and he wasn't trying to put up a good show. He really did mean it, sure Megan could be a pain in the ass at times, but he really did enjoy her company.

"Your mother sure raised you well, she must really be proud of the young man you turned out to be,"

"I hope so." His smile faded slightly.

"I'm sorry…." She had almost forgotten that Megan had told her that both of Chase's parents were dead.

"It's okay. It was a long time ago." Four years to be exact, was when the accident had happened that had killed both of his parents. He had been only eighteen at the time, still a very young age to lose both of your parents. "It was hard at first, but I had people that cared about me back home, that helped me through it."

"You must miss home, being so far from it…."

"…..I do, but this is starting to feel like home." He didn't know what it was, but there was something familiar about Hayley, something he couldn't explain and for a moment he thought she recognized it too, but a second later the look was gone.

"Well, Wes and I should be heading back home; we have a little bit of a drive back to Reefside."

"It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Myers." Chase put out his hand, smiling back at her.

"Please call me Hayley." She shook his hand. "Wesley, honey, time to go."

"Ah, but Mom…." Wes whined as he got up from the couch and made his way over to his mother. "The show was just getting good…"

* * *

"You sure you don't want to stay the night?" Syd raised her arms up and wrapped them around Sky's neck pulling his head down to her. "I could make it worth your _while_," she said, as she began to kiss him passionately, as her lips opened under his.

The kiss began to deepen slightly, as Sky moved his arms up pulling Syd closer to him. Tonight had been difficult for him; it had been fourteen years since his father's passing, since Merlock had ended his life. The painful memories of losing his father, the hurt, the years of feeling abandoned and then all the lies about his past…. Sky deepened the kiss even more than before; causing both him and Syd to fall onto the couch; everything else was forgotten.

"Looks like someone wants their present." Syd grinned as Sky lay on top of her body, their eyes locked with each other. But the more she looked into his eyes, she could see something troubling about them, something was wrong. She knew he was doing all he could to hide it, but since they had been together she had come to know all his looks and could recognize when something was wrong with him. "Sky, is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine." He leaned down to her, brushing his lips against her jaw and trailing them up towards her lips. "Never been better." He kissed her again.

"Are you sure?" she asked as she gently ran her hand over the back of his head and brushed her fingers over his ears. "Because I did see the news report about Dru. And in combination with today and what happened a few days ago, I know this hasn't been an easy week for you."

"I'm fine, Syd. Really." He gently caressed her cheek and leaned down and kissed her playfully which turned into a more passionate kiss, just wanting this moment to last a while longer. Syd wrapped her arms around his back pulling him closer and soon all her concerns for him began to disappear.

Just as she was starting to finish unbuttoning the last couple buttons of his shirt... "Ahemm……" Both of them shot up to find Z in the living room; she had just gotten back home from her night shift at the Academy with Bridge. "Hey, guys…."

"Now I know where Megan gets it from, your timing sucks," grumbled Sky, as he started to button his shirt back up.

"How long have you've been standing there?" asked Syd, a little annoyed. "I didn't hear the door open."

"That's because you were too busy sucking each other's faces." Z grinned. "I haven't been here that long, so go on and continue doing what you were going to do. Don't mind me, I'm going to head in for the night." Z headed towards the counter to set her keys down.

"Well…" Sky stood up. "I actually should be going; I promised Chase we'd hang out."

"…All right." Syd smiled, a little disappointed, but she understood. She got up and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek. "Just try not to get into too much trouble; you do have to go to work tomorrow."

"Don't worry. I'll be…."

"I know, you'll be fine."

Sky nodded his head and then gave her a quick kiss, before heading towards the door. He briefly glanced over at Z. "Night, Z."

"Night, Sky." Once Sky was gone, Syd turned to Z, seeing her a little more than upset. "What!" Z said in protest, but knowing very well what Syd was upset about. "Don't even start with me, Syd."

"You could have knocked, you know."

"Oh, so I'm supposed to knock at the door of an apartment I pay half of?" Z just shook her head. "Even if I did, it's not like you two would have heard me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You really don't see it, do you?" Z knew that Syd had better sense than this, but she clearly was very hung up on Sky and couldn't think clearly when it came to him.

"See what?"

"Okay, look," Z walked around so she was face to face with Syd. "I'm not telling you this to be mean. I'm telling you this because you're my friend and I don't want to see you get hurt."

Syd crossed her arms against her chest. "I'm waiting…."

"I lied about the time I was standing there. I heard the whole conversation, about how you were worried about him…."

"He said he was fine!" Now Syd was starting to get irritable, if there was one thing she didn't like it was someone getting into her own private business.

"_That's _what he said."

"Meaning….."

"Haven't you noticed that anytime you bring up anything personal about Sky or how he is feeling, that he finds a way out of it so he doesn't have to talk about it? Like tonight for instance, he said he was fine and then did the only thing that would shut you up."

Syd's eyes widened, now she really was upset. She couldn't believe that Z would think such a thing. "That's not true. Sky tells me a lot of things!"

"Really?" Z crossed her arms against her chest, looking her friend square in the eyes. "Did he ever tell you why he was so upset when he showed up at your parents' front doorstep?"

Syd had about had it with Z's crap. "….Yeah. Well, at least I have a boyfriend and not some _phantom_ that I'm chasing after!" Syd stormed off to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

"Syd!" Not wanting the two to go to bed on a argument and knowing that it was very important for them all to maintain a good relationship with each other, given their kind of work and need to trust each other on all levels, Z opened the door to Syd's room and sat down next to Syd. "I'm not saying Sky's a bad guy. I know how you feel about him."

"Okay… Then what is it? What's so wrong with him, that you don't like?"

Z took a deep breath, knowing she was going to need to word this carefully without upsetting Syd more than she already had. "I don't think Sky knows what he wants, and instead of dealing with his problems, he avoids them."

"You think he's using me?" Syd exclaimed. "Sky wouldn't do that!"

"I hope you're right." Z smiled faintly, but a part of her had a very strong feeling that that was what was happening. She might not have known Sky for as long as Syd had, but she knew him enough to know that he did not deal with things well and found one way or another to avoid them in any way he could. "Because I want you guys to be happy."

"Thanks." Syd smiled faintly, but what Z had said really was starting to stick to her; maybe her friend wasn't too far off. It did seem that whenever she brought up anything that dealt with Sky personally, that he would find a way out of it, like tonight. "Sorry about what I said, about Cliff… I know that you kind of care about him."

"It's okay. I actually came face to face with him."

"Really?' Syd's face brightened. She had been the only person that Z had told what her special mission assignment from Cruger was. "Well….?"

* * *

Chase had taken Sky out towards the beach that was just a little way away from their apartment building. Another group of people had a bonfire going and Chase had brought a cooler with a couple of beers in it.

"So you and Syd had a nice time."

"Yeah…." Sky took a sip of his beer, looking into the fire and watching as the flames sparked into the fire. "Dinner and a movie."

"Syd seems like a nice girl. You're one lucky guy." Chase finished off his drink and went for another. He had known that Syd was very popular among many of the other male cadets and officers at the Academy. And he couldn't blame them for looking at her, she was a very beautiful girl.

"Thanks…"

"You okay?" He was sensing something was wrong, though he couldn't be sure, Sky was a hard guy to read.

"I'm great. I'm going to go check out the ocean."

"Okay." Chase turned his head and watched as Sky walked over towards the ocean, watching as the water brushed against the shore, seeming so unaware of the commotion around him: the music playing in the background and the laughter.

Chase turned back towards the fire, watching it intensely, as if he saw something in the fire, nothing else around him mattered, only the fire burning brightly, the heat of the smoke brushing against his face.

_"You're going to make it out of here…." A young woman coughed, she had long black hair. Her body leaned against a wall, mangled; blood drenched her uniform, as fire and smoke filled the building. _

Chase took a sip of his beer, continually staring into the fire; his face was hot and sweaty. _"…..You have to…"_

_"They'll come to you, you'll be okay…" She coughed again, but this time blood trickled down her chin. "I know you will." She stared up at the body lying next to her; he was looking no better than her._

_"Don't…." Answered the larger body lying next to her. "Don't you let go…"_

Tears covered Chase's eyes as he finished off the beer; he raised the bottle, looking right at it, seeing a vague reflection of himself, with the fire burning. _"Don't let go…"_

_"You can't leave me….. Not now." He slowly moved his injured hand over hers, squeezing it gently. "I need you to stay with me."_

_"I will always be with you." Her breathing was starting to get weak, darkness from the smoke she had consumed was starting to come over her. "You're going to be okay, Chase, you'll make it out of here and I know you'll find them, just like we said we would. And they will be everything you hoped they would be…."_

_"Don't go…."_

_"I will….always be with you….." With one last breath, her eyes closed forever….._

Chase gulped in heavily; as he brushed away his tears and tossed his bottle into the fire several bright sparks burst. Still hearing those final words… _"I will always be with you…"_

"I know you are…. I know…" He bit his lips. "I know…"

"You know what?"

Chase turned around and found Sky standing behind him. "I know…..that we should probably be starting back to the apartment."

"Yeah. We probably should," agreed Sky.

**KO-35**

Twelve year old Mora sat outside in the backyard of her grandparents' home…_her home_. She had been here for months now, trying to adapt among the humans, a race that she once had hated and wanted nothing more than to see whipped out of existence, that was however before she had learned the truth. Her parents had been human: Andros and Ashley Hammond; they had been Power Rangers, a few of the first SPD Rangers. They had gone to Sirius, a planet that had once been Commander Cruger's home world and it was there they were killed, but not by humans as she had been told, but by Gruumm and his army.

Her whole life had been nothing but a lie. Everything that Gruumm had told her had been a lie. She had no memory of good things, only hate and fear. She did not remember what her parents looked like, what it felt like to have them hold her or kiss her on the cheek, the sound of their voices. She had been too young, just an innocent baby. She had also learned while being here, that both her Aunt Karone and Uncle Zhane were gone as well, killed by one of Gruumm's thugs. She had asked by which one, but no one would ever tell her. Deep down a part of her knew, a part of her knew that the monster that had once and maybe still did live inside of her was responsible for their deaths. No one would ever say and she would never again ask.

A few tears rolled down her cheek, she knew her grandparents meant well and that they even had experience in things like this, but they couldn't ever fully understand. And anybody that could have was long dead. She hugged her doll close to her, just wishing for everything to get better. She knew that it wouldn't even help when her mother's parents would come for a visit, from Earth.

A distance away a man watched, hidden in the shadows, watching the young girl closely. Not a moment later Mora began to sense that she was being watched; she stood up and dried away her tears, looking around and then she picked up on the spot where the man was watching her. "What do you want!" she demanded. "Show yourself!" Moments passed with no answer and then he came out of hiding and walked closer up to her. Her eyes widened. "You….'

"Hello, Mora…" answered Cliff, the last time he had seen her was back on Gruumm's ship when he had to lock her in the closest for her own protection. Besides Dru, she was all that was left of the children that Gruumm had abducted. Of the three of them, Dru would spend the rest of his life behind bars in a prison; Chase had tried to go and see him but had been unable to due to SPD tight security, not that it would have done any good. He and Dru had never been the best of friends and perhaps that had been Dru's biggest downfall, he and the others had always made trouble for Dru. He sighed heavily, hoping that things with Mora could be different.

"…..Is it true what they say about you, that you're the Phantom?"

"Yes."

"Is it also true that your mother knew my parents, that she was the Pink Ranger?" She had come to learn a lot of things these past months, overhearing things while her grandparents thought she was asleep.

"Yes, Mora, it is true." He knelt down in front of her, so he was eye level with her. "I was taken just like you were; I was there as Gruumm's army killed my father, the Phantom Ranger."

"Then we're alike."

"Yeah. I guess we are…."

"Take me with you…. I can't stand it here."

Cliff sighed. "You can't come with me, Mora, where I go, I must go alone."

"Why? We need to stick together; you're the only one that understands what it is like. They try, but they just can't….."

"I know that it is hard, but you must remain here, they need you." He gripped her shoulders. "Don't let Gruumm take anything else away from you. You'll be the one to get through all of this, everything Gruumm put us through; you will be the one to make it. I want that for you, Mora. I want you to live your life, I want you to grow up and enjoy everything life has to offer."

"What about you?"

"I can't go back; I still have many mistakes I need to make up for."

"What about me? I have done bad things too…. _I _know I have…" Tears filled her eyes; she hated to cry, she hated to feel, all she wanted was to forget and feel nothing, nothing at all.

"That's why I came here. I wanted to make things better for you." He raised his hand over her face. "To help take it all away."

"Will it hurt?"

"No…." He watched as she closed her eyes, his hand began to glow and a golden energy of light covered her face; it only lasted a few moments. And once he was done he dropped his hand down.

Mora opened her eyes and looked up at him, looking slightly confused. "Who are you?"

"I'm nobody…" Cliff backed away, a faint smile on his face, content with knowing she would be okay and that she would get through this. "Goodbye, Mora, everything's going to be okay now." Before Mora could even respond he was gone in a flash of light, leaving Mora standing there wondering who he was, but somewhere deep inside something told her that just as he said everything was going to be okay.

"Come on, Suzy Sunshine, lets go see what Grandma made for lunch!" Mora danced her way back to her home.


	5. A Time of Letting Go Part 3

He had been on Earth for a little over a month now. Most of his days were spent with training sessions with Sky, training B Squad; it wouldn't be long until they would select a team of cadets to become the new B Squad Rangers. The rest of the time was going out on calls of disturbances with the team. Nothing too big had happened, all had seemed pretty quiet. He considered it a blessing, but he knew it wouldn't last for long. Just because Gruumm was out of the picture, did not mean someone else would not step up to the plate. All he hoped was that he would be ready when the time would come when he would have to do it all again.

Chase had been the one selected for night duty at the base; all of them had alternate nights. It wasn't exactly a job but somehow he enjoyed it, the time alone, the silence, just being alone with his thoughts. It was almost peaceful or at least that was what he hoped for. He sighed heavily as he pulled out his wallet, taking out a picture of him and four others. Callie, his fiancée, Dougy Bains, Link Marx, and Val Locke all wearing SPD uniforms. The more he stared at the photo, their faces, the more he found himself being lost in a trance, starting to drift away.

_BOOM!!! Explosions were going off everywhere, left and right, there was no escape. Dark smoke filled the room. He couldn't see anything, only could hear faint cries for help and then quicker than light something jumped in front of him. Before he could even react, he felt a sharp pain going into his cheek. "Ahhhh…." There was another explosion, an even louder one than before._

BOOM!!! Thunder from outside pounded loudly against the Academy's thick walls. "Ahhh…" Chase jerked awake; his heart was racing, pounding against his chest. His breathing was deep and hard as he gulped in, hoping to calm himself down. It had happened again, his nightmare, only this time he was having them while he was awake.

"You all right?" No answer. "Chase!" Sky waved his hand in front of Chase's face. "You okay?"

Chase snapped out of it and finally met Sky's eyes, he started slightly to find his leader standing in front of him, knowing he had not been there moments before. He could see that Sky was waiting for an answer, staring at him questioningly. "I'm fine. Just dozed off for a few seconds."

"Don't let Cruger catch you dozing off on night duty." Sky walked around and then noticed the photo that Chase was holding in his hand. "Who are they?"

Chase had completely forgotten that he had the photo out. "Oh um, just some old friends, from back home," he answered as he put the photo away. "Nothing special."

"Whatever," Sky answered. He too had heard the rumor that Chase was in line to become a commander back on Mirinoi, but then he had shown up here and taken on a lower rank, and no one seemed to know why. It wouldn't be the ideal thing for Sky, who ever since he had joined SPD had been working himself to the top.

"Didn't you have a date with Syd tonight?" asked Chase.

"Had to cancel, something came up."

"And she was okay with that?" Knowing very well that Syd probably wasn't the type of person that liked to have her plans cancelled.

Sky just shrugged it off; Syd had been pretty upset with him. That had been the third time this month he had blown off one of their dates. "I told her I'd make it up to her."

"Oh." Chase nodded his head; he was beginning to see a little of what Z and he had talked about the other day, that there was just something off about Sky and Syd's relationship. "So what came up?"

"I was training in the simulator and doing some studying."

"For?"

"I'm looking to reach the rank of commander." Ever since he had been given the rank of lieutenant, he knew it was just one step closer to reaching the rank of commander.

"Like your dad?" Sky nodded his head. "If you don't mind me asking, how did it happen?" He too had just been a boy when Wes Collins had been killed. All he really knew what that it had been Merlock, other than that it was bits and pieces. Back then and even still today, it took a long time for news to travel from each SPD base planet.

Sky sighed heavily, the last time he had told this story he had nearly lost it and as a result Merlock had escaped. "We were in the park having a great time, but then he got the call. They told me he saved dozen of lives and fought to the bitter end." Even Sky wasn't too clear on what had happened during the battle, no one really ever told him much. But the one thing he really did remember was the hospital. "My step-mom and I went to the hospital, all we had been told was he had been hurt, but soon after we arrived the then A Squad Rangers came up to us, told us what had happened. My grandfather showed up a few minutes later."

"Megan never mentioned you had a step-mother." And come to think of it, Sky never mentioned her either, but that would be expected. In the months of getting to know Sky, he had learned that Sky was a pretty reserved guy and rarely ever talked about himself, unless it involved his father.

"She wouldn't remember her." Sky sighed heavily. He hadn't really thought about Lisa in a long time, it had just been his way of getting over it and moving on with his life. "After my dad died, it was just too hard for her to stay." It hadn't really occurred to him until then how angry and hurt he really had been with her. How could she have just left him? Though deep down, he couldn't really blame her for leaving.

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right. It was a long time ago. She's moved on and so have I," Sky answered all too quickly. "Well, I should be going, see you bright and early tomorrow."

"Sure thing." Chase watched as Sky started to head out. "Hey Sky…"

"Yeah?" Sky turned around.

"Don't work yourself too hard; being a commander may not be all it's cracked up to be."

Sky didn't know what to make of that comment, but decided not to think much of it. "Okay…"

**Mirinoi**

"Sir!" announced a young seventeen year old man, as he marched into the office and stopped directly in front of the desk. He saluted to the man sitting at the desk, as his eyes met with Commander Corbet.

Mike Corbet locked eyes with the young man before him; his face was stern and tired, as if he hadn't slept in months. He pushed his work aside, waving his hand. "At ease, Cadet."

The young cadet did as his superior ordered and went into a more relaxed form, but still kept his eyes focused. "Yes sir."

"Is there something I can do for you, Cadet?" Mike folded his hand together and rested his chin upon them.

"Yes sir." The young cadet pulled out a folded sheet from his uniform jacket and presented it to him. "I wish to be permitted into the Ranger program," he firmly announced. "I understand you're still looking for applications."

Mike looked at the young man as he took the sheet; there was a sort of displeasure about it but he took it anyway, going over it or at least pretending to do so. He ran his hand over his darkened black and slight grayish hair. "I…I don't know." He looked up at the cadet. "I may have to review it some more."

"My scores are at the top of the charts, sir, surely I am more than qualified to meet the requirements." The cadet folded his hands behind his back; he wasn't about to back down, not when he knew he was ready to take on the challenges that came with being permitted into the program and becoming a Ranger. This was all he had wanted since he was a boy, to be part of the best of the best. "Please sir, look over the form again."

With a sigh Mike looked over the papers again. The scores were high, some of the highest he had seen in the last couple of months since he had been permitting other cadets into the program. But the scores didn't seem to matter to him, he didn't care about the scores or how good a candidate the cadet before him might be. He pushed the form to the side. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to be admitted into the program."

The cadet clenched his fists tightly together behind his back, but he had learned to control his anger and not lash out. He took a deep breath and calmly replied, "Permission to speak freely, sir."

Knowing he might regret the decision later, Mike nodded his head, allowing the cadet to speak freely. "Go ahead."

"I just wonder who it is who is not permitting me into the Ranger program, my commander," he bit his lips and looked Mike hard in the eyes, an almost chilling effect, "……or my father?" He searched his father's eyes, waiting, but no response came. And with that said Michael Corbet Jr., left his father's office, not even needing to hear a response, already knowing what the answer would be. It wasn't that he was expecting anything less, considering…... but he had hoped that his father would prove him wrong.

"Hey, Mikey….." Leo passed by his nephew in the hall, but Mikey never answered back and just kept on his way. Leo walked into his brother's office. "What was that all about?" he asked as he closed the door behind him.

"He came to me wanting my permission for him to be admitted into the Ranger program." Mike took the sheet his son had given him and tossed it into the trash. "And I declined him. He's not ready."

"Are you kidding me?" Leo couldn't believe it; he almost laughed. He shook his head, with that silly grin of his. "Now why'd you go and do a thing like that? Mikey is more qualified than half of the A Squad together." He took a seat in the chair in front of his brother's desk. Though Leo knew the reason behind his brother's decision, he knew that eventually his brother would not be able to use that as an excuse.

"We're not going to talk about this, Leo," Mike answered very firmly, knowing very well that his baby brother would try to convince him otherwise.

"The hell we aren't! We _need_ to talk about this, Mike, especially _you_!" He had been waiting for months for an opportunity to talk to Mike about what had happened, and now seemed as good as time as any. "You've been burying yourself in work, hardly ever going home to sleep or eat for months. Haley's been a wreck, worried sick about you, and now you are on the road to destroying your relationship with your son." And Leo wasn't finished, his brother's wife wasn't the only one worried, they all were. "No one ever sees you anymore outside your office! Everyone's starting to call you Count Dracula."

"Look, I'm sorry if I haven't been around much!" He didn't have time to go over this with Leo, not with the crisis they had all been faced with. The whole planet was in disorder and it was his job to get things back on track, that's why he had barely gotten any sleep in the last several months, why he hasn't stopped to eat or socialize with anyone. There was no time. "But there is a lot of work that needs to be taken care of!"

"You never even wanted this job, you said so yourself back when you were promoted to commander."

He had been promoted to Leading Commander in 2019, but just a few months after that had been up-ranked to High Commander, in control of all SPD on Mirinoi. "Well, that didn't happen, now did it!" Mike shot back.

It was true he had never wanted this job. He didn't even want to be promoted to a commander. He was just happy where he had been. He was forty-five years old; after defending the world for a little over twenty years he was tired of it and wanted to move on, spend more time with his family.

"No one expected you to take over after Stanton died." It had been close to a year now since the man who had led Terra Venture throughout the galaxy to find a new world had passed on. It had been an unexpected death; no one had seen it coming. He was only sixty-three.

"Yes they did, Leo!" snapped Mike. "Ever since we left on Terra Venture, I was his right-hand man. _Everyone_ expected me to, even _him_."

"That didn't mean you had to take the job."

"Yes, _I _did! I was the only one who could do it! There was no one else…" Mike already could feel himself losing his composure, his focus; for months he had held it all in and now was finding everything he had been holding back coming out all at once.

"Maybe that's true, but after….." Leo gulped in heavily and let out a heavy sigh. "Everyone would have understood if you stepped down, let someone else take over."

"I am not stepping down!" Mike slammed his fist onto his desk. "Damnit, Leo! In case you have forgotten we're in the middle of a major crisis right now." He firmly shot up his hand, holding out two fingers. "I have to fill two Ranger squads that have been empty for almost six months. I am in no position to step down!" He was angry, more than he had ever been in his life, more than he ever thought he possibly could be. "So I'm sorry if I have been such a pissed off person lately…."

"I loved her too!" Leo felt as tears leaked from his eyes and rolled down his face. "I loved her too…." He hated this, seeing his brother so broken up, able to snap at any moment. It was so unlike the Mike he had grown up with; the Mike he had known had always been calm, and always knew what to do at every moment.

Mike sighed heavily, taking a deep breath as he tried to tone down some of his anger. "Then you know why I won't let Michael into the program."

Leo just shook his head, sadly. "You could lose him either way, he'll be eighteen in a manner of months. With his scores, he'll be able to go to any academy he wants." Leo stood up from his seat. "At least if he joined here, he would be under your watch." He started towards the door, knowing he had done all he could to get through to his brother.

"And when the day comes when Dean and Dylan are old enough to join, what about then, Leo? Would you be so willing to send your sons off to battle, knowing the risks they will face?" It would be a while until either boy would be old enough to join in combat, yet alone the Ranger program. Dean was only thirteen and Dylan was eleven years old and already both boys seemed quite determined to become Rangers like their father and mother.

Leo turned slightly, eyeing his brother. "I would support my boys with whatever decisions they make. If joining the academy, becoming a Ranger, if that is what they want I will back them up all the way." Leo sighed heavily. "Because they are the same risks we faced everyday when it was us fighting those battles." He looked his brother in the eyes. "The same risk _she_ knew she was taking, every time she stepped out on the battlefield…"

A few hours later, Mike came home to find his wife Haley sitting in the living room, wearing her robe. They had been married for twenty-one years. She had been the girl he had helped all those years ago, along with her grandfather who had died years ago, helped them and many other people escape out of slavery to Captain Mutiny. She had stuck by him while he had recovered from his injuries; they fell in love and shortly after they married, and not long after that….. Mike set his gun and harness on the counter, not making eye contact with her. He couldn't look at her anymore; it brought back too many memories. "What are you still doing up?"

"Waiting for you."

Mike briefly glanced over at the clock; it was three in the morning. "You should go to bed, it's late."

"What about you?" She walked up to him, wrapping her arms around him and nuzzling her cheek against his. "You need your sleep too."

Mike seemed unaffected by her affections, as he pulled out a packet of folders he had brought back from his office. "Can't. I still have a lot of paperwork I need to go over."

"It can wait until tomorrow." She took the packet from him and set it on the counter, moving herself around him so they were face to face. "We hardly ever talk anymore."

Mike didn't answer; he didn't know what to say or what to do. He turned his head away, not wanting to look into her face. Haley gently caressed his cheek and across his ear. "Please Mike, talk to me. Don't leave me in the dark…" she cried. Ever since that day had happened, he had been pushing her further and further away. It was like they had become complete strangers.

"I….I don't know what you want me to say." He faced her, looking into her eyes, seeing _her_ eyes… "I don't know what I'm supposed to do…"

"You have to let her go, Mike." She looked him deep in the eyes, tears shining in both. "And you have to let him go, you have to let Mikey do this." She ran her hands through his hair. "He's not a little boy anymore."

"I know, I know he's ready for this." He bit his lips, trying so hard to hold back his tears. "But I'm not ready to let her go, I can't do that…Because if I do that, it will mean that it happened and I….." He felt as his wife drew him into her arms, wrapping her arms tightly around him. And then what needed to happen for months, happened, he sobbed. "…..My baby's gone….my baby's gone…"

"I know…" sobbed Haley. "I know."

An hour later, the two were cradled in each other's arms in their bed. It seemed so long since they had been this close. But both of them knew it would be a little longer until things would be okay again. They still had a lot to deal with, over their loss. Mike gently rubbed his wife's back, letting out a heavy sigh, as he turned to his night stand and stared at a photo of Chase and himself. The two of them looked almost like an image of father and son… "Chase isn't going to be coming back, is he?"

Haley sighed heavily; it had been hard on all of them when Chase had told them he was transferring to Earth. Especially on Mike, who had treated Chase like a son after Chase's parents had died. The two had gotten close. "He had to let go of Callie, of everything that happened, in his own way." She gently kissed him on the cheek. "There was nothing left for him here. He needed to start over." She reached for his hand. "Just like we will."

Mike looked into her eyes and for the first time in a long time, felt some comfort, a feeling of ease. He wasn't sure what the future had in store, but one thing was for sure, he didn't want to have to find out alone. They would find out together and that would have to be enough. He gently stroked her cheek, as he leaned his face closer to her. "I love you, Haley."

"I love you too…" she answered, as he kissed her.

**Back on Earth**

Isinia greeted her husband as he came into their bedroom. It had been a long road for the two; they had to get to know each other all over again. So many years had been lost between them, which is why they wanted to make each day count for something.

"Sorry I'm a little late heading in. I wanted to check in with Chase."

"How is he?" asked Isinia, though she didn't know the exact details, only what her husband would tell her.

"Still adjusting. Not ready to talk about what happened."

"Reminds me of someone else." She smiled as she wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled his nose. "He'll come around in time." She looked him deeply in the eyes. "You did."

"Yes. I did." But something more was on his mind than Chase's past - a call that he had gotten earlier today, that he wasn't quite expecting. "Anders contacted me today…"

"What did he have to say?" A trace of concern came over her. "Is Mora okay?"

"She's fine…." he assured her, but his eyes widened, almost unsure of how he felt about the situation. He eyed his wife closely. "She doesn't remember."

"Doesn't remember?" she asked, not sure what her husband meant. "What do you mean she doesn't remember? Remember what?"

"Gruumm…."

Isinia's eyes widened. How could that be? Gruumm wasn't something that you could just forget, not after everything that had happened. Mora had been a wreck for months after finally being taken out of his grasp and had been having a very difficult time adjusting to her new life with his grandparents, knowing the truth. "But how?"

"They don't know," he answered. "All Mora could remember was seeing a young man, someone she didn't recognize. She believed he was the Phantom…"

"Cliff…"

Cruger nodded his head; that was the only one who it could be as far as he was concerned. "The question is why. Why would he erase her memories?"

Isinia sighed heavily; though she understood her husband's concerns, she understood Cliff too, maybe far better than anyone else could. She had watched as the children grew, watched the things that Gruumm had done to them to turn them. "Maybe he didn't want her to remember; maybe he wanted her to be able to live a life without her demons hanging over her shoulder."

"You really believe that he is going around trying to make right all the damage Gruumm has done?"

"Don't you?" She eyed her husband. "If it weren't for him, we might not even be here."

"I'd like to believe that, but….." Cruger bowed his head down. "There are some things he will not be able to undo. Erasing a few memories will not make up for everything that the A Squad did." As much as Cruger hated to admit it, they had done many things, and it wasn't until after their deaths that he had learned the extent of what those things were.

"And he knows that." Isinia sighed heavily, knowing that her husband too carried a burden, a burden she too carried with her, feeling somewhat responsible for what had happened. "That is why he chooses to walk this life alone."


	6. Determined

"Keep practicing and going through the courses," announced Chase as he and Sky stood before the B Squad cadets, five of whom would have the potential of being the B Squad second rank Rangers. In just a manner of months they would be selecting a group of ten, just as it had been done before, from those that had come before them. Then another couple of months would go by to train the ten cadets. Hopefully by then Kat would have created the Blue Ranger morpher to replace the one which had been destroyed beyond repair when Sky had fought against Omni.

"All of you have improved since the last time," added Sky, who was in his glory; never in his life had he felt so proud. He was doing the work of his father, he was a Red Ranger, training cadets to become Power Rangers and soon would be hand-selecting a team alongside Chase. "You should all be proud of yourselves."

Sky eyed them all; though they all had improved immensely already he could see the ones who showed promise at becoming Rangers. It wasn't just the best fighters, but the ones who showed dedication, teamwork, and honor, all important characteristics needed to become a Power Ranger, to one day be part of the best of the best.

"Thank you, sirs!" exclaimed the B Squad, as they saluted their commanding officers before exiting the training room.

"Sky Tate, giving a compliment." Chase turned to Sky as he reached for his water bottle, taking a sip. "I thought I was the only one allowed to give the compliments." Recalling the previous times that they had these training sessions, that Sky usually was the one yelling, making sure that everyone was giving one hundred percent. "Syd must be making you soft," grinned Chase.

"Very funny." Sky just rolled his eyes. He knew being a Commander wasn't just always barking orders at someone, it was also encouraging everyone to do their very best, and he knew if he ever wanted to reach the rank of commander he would have to start showing everyone he had great potential for being a leader overall, of more than just a Ranger squad.

"Yeah. I thought so." Chase jokingly shoved Sky in the shoulder. These past two months the two had become good friends, which was probably a hard thing to do since they did live and work together, something that didn't always play well for some guys, but that didn't seem to be a problem for these two. "So you got any _big_ plans this week for ditching out on your last few dates?"

"What exactly does a guy do for his girl when he's skipped out on dates?" asked Sky.

Chase shrugged his shoulders. "You're asking the wrong guy, Tate. I never missed out on a date to be with my girl." Chase walked past him, patting him on the shoulder before heading towards the locker room to hit the showers, before he would head back onto his daily routines at the Academy.

"Great…." He sighed. Syd could be a fairly forgiving person, but he knew how she was about them spending time alone together.

* * *

Drake sat on the back porch with Eric, watching as their daughters played on the swing set with Wesley and Rex the dog.

"He hates me….."

"He doesn't hate you," replied Eric. "He doesn't know you well enough to hate you."

"And that's usually when people start to hate me," pointed out Drake, recalling that he never was the most popular person with people over the years. A good deal of people had at least once hated him or not agreed with some of his decisions.

"Well…think of it this way, once he gets to know you, maybe he'll really like you."

That got a smile out of Drake; he couldn't believe how mellow Eric had gotten over the years, but every so often he would see a spark of the old Eric. "Yeah. He'll have to start answering my phone calls first."

"Just give him some more time, he'll come around." Although a part of Eric was wondering if Sky would ever come around. It did seem as if lately, ever since he learned the truth, that once again Sky had been distancing himself from them, not as bad as it was before, but things definitely were changing.

"Yeah," Drake sighed. He had known it would be difficult for Sky to hear the truth, but he had never imagined it would be this bad. A part of him truly believed that the little boy who had loved him all those years ago would still be somewhere inside of him. But that had been a long time ago, too long ago, apparently, as Sky no longer remembered him. That part had been his fault; he had been the one who had altered Sky's memories and blocked any memories from his life in the 'future'. Back then he had thought he had done the right thing by that, but these days he was wondering if that had been a mistake. He scratched his head, wanting to shift to something else. "So how's Tommy been doing? I haven't really had much of a chance to talk with him since he got back into town."

"He's doing better than what he was," answered Eric. "He got a full time job back at the school. He keeps pretty busy over there, teaching his class along with the Karate Club he started up."

"Has he talked to Kimberly?"

Eric shook his head. "No. She hasn't returned any of his phone calls. He has talked to Junior a couple of times; just to see how's she's doing."

"That's too bad. I know he and Kim go way back."

"Yeah." Eric leaned back in his chair, watching as his children and Jenny ran around in the backyard with the dogs, all of them laughing and enjoying each others' company. It was something he knew Tommy had always wanted, a family, and though they considered him part of their family he knew that deep down Tommy wanted one to call his own.

"An old friend of theirs is coming into town this week, from college, right?"

"Ah yeah…" Eric turned to Drake. "Lilly. She and Hayley haven't seen each other in years. All I really know about her is she's thinking about moving here with her two kids; she divorced her husband a year ago."

"Thinking about hooking her up with Tommy?" Drake's eyes widened with a grin on his face.

That got a laugh out of Eric. "No. Hayley actually has someone else in mind, to play match up with."

Drake was seeing where this was going and he wasn't too sure if he liked where that was. "Hold on a second!" His eyes widened. "You're not thinking about setting me up with her, are you?"

Eric just grinned and turned back to watching the kids, arms around his lap, just enjoying the moment of watching Drake squirm, something that you saw very rarely if ever.

"Eric, come on. I can't….."

"Can't what?" He turned back to his friend. "You haven't been out with a girl since Jenny's mother."

"Yes Jill, my wife, the mother of my child….."

"Who has been dead for five years," Eric reminded him. "It's time to move on, she'd want you to move on."

"Have you forgotten where I came from? I didn't exactly follow precautions when getting involved with Jill." He had known he was taking a big risk getting involved with her, marrying her and having a child, but it had happened and he was glad that it had. He didn't regret what had happened, but he knew he needed to be careful, both for the sake of himself and his daughter and Sky. "Anything I do here could have a drastic effect on the future. If they find out that I'm here that will lead to them learning the truth about Sky and everything. All hell will break loose."

"That's the same bullshit you've been feeding everyone for years," announced Eric, who was starting to get tired of hearing that over and over. "It's not like if you go out on one date with Lilly, that we're going to get a message from Time Force saying the whole world's going to end."

"Maybe…." Drake sighed. It wasn't that he wasn't afraid to fall in love again. He was ready to start dating, moving on and fall in love again. He wanted Jenny to have a mother again, but at the same time he knew his getting involved with someone else again could endanger the time stream, more than it already had been since he had arrived. "I'll meet her and we'll see how things go, but the moment I feel that the time stream could be endangered…."

"Yeah. I know, it's a done deal." Eric got up from his seat. "I'll go let Hayley know you're cool with it." He patted Drake on the shoulder and headed inside to go in search of his wife.

"Hey Uncle Drake!" Little Wes came running up to him. Over the years he had come to think of Drake as being his uncle, since neither of her parents had any siblings, to him both Tommy and Drake were his uncles. "Can we play rocket-ship?" His eyes widened. "Please….."

_How can I say no to that face? _Drake chuckled under his breath, sure that like Eric family life had seemed to mellow him down a little, but even so that didn't stop him from worrying about the time stream. All his years of training in Time Force had taught him better. "Sure, kiddo." Drake got up and lifted Wes into the air. "Here we go……."

* * *

Chase was in the Academy's Memorial Chamber, a place dedicated to fallen Rangers and officers. All of them were names he recognized, _Andros Hammond…..Theodore Johnson….Cassie Chan…..Dashel Jackson the 3__rd__…Wesley Collins_. All of them were names he had heard about over and over during his training days at the Academy. They were the best of the best of the Rangers, ones the cadets were taught to look up to, to learn from.

But today Chase wasn't here to remember them or even to see their pictures and their honors on the walls. He was here to see the likeness of five others, five he had come to hate. His fist clenched together as he stared at the photo of the former A Squad Rangers, the team that had betrayed everything that SPD, honor, and being a Ranger stood for, but yet the Academy still remembered them. He didn't care that in the last of their hours that the A Squad had turned away from Gruumm and assisted the Rangers in stopping him, he didn't care about the tragedy each one had faced in their young lives. None of that mattered to him.

He wanted nothing more than to take their memorial off the wall and toss it out of the room, but he knew better than that. He would show no disrespect, not in this room; this room was supposed to be a room of peace and honor, a place you could go to and feel that you are in the presence of greatness and just hope that one day you do half of the work that they had done.

Sighing heavily, Chase turned away from those that had displeased him and turned to another, the father of the man who he had been working side by side with. Chase could understand why Sky worked so hard, putting all he had into everything he did; he wanted to be great, just as his father before him had been. Chase stepped towards the door and saluted to those that had fallen, before existing the room and making his way down the hall.

Outside in the hall, hidden behind a platform, Megan emerged and stepped inside the Memorial Chamber. She had been spying on Chase, going back to her old ways, just knowing that there was something more about Chase that he was keeping secret, and she was determined to find out what that was.

"Wow…." Megan was not foreign to what this room stood for, unlike many of her classmates when they first joined the Academy. She had known ever since she was a little girl that this room existed, since she was a baby her father had fed her with knowledge about the Power Rangers, about how he and her uncle had fought countless battles, one of which was her uncle's last and final battle. He had even told her a little about Andros's team and even the young cadet Dash, who he had personally trained to be a Ranger.

Now getting back into her curious mode, Megan found the spot where Chase had been looking the moment he clenched his fist so tightly. It was the late A Squad. It wasn't uncommon for anyone at the Academy to have sour feelings towards the late A Squad team, but Sky and the others had made a point to remember, knowing that if it hadn't been for the A Squad that none of them might be here today, which seemed to tone everything down a little. _So then why would Chase have a bone to pick with them?_

"There you are!" announced Sam, as he teleported behind Megan.

Megan jumped about two feet in the air; she turned around and swatted at her young friend. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry," answered Sam, as he glanced around the room. This was his second time in the room, a place of greatness; it had been here that he had sworn that one day he would be a Power Ranger. He didn't care how hard or how long he would have to train; he just knew this was what he wanted to be part of. "So you came to see your uncle?"

"No." She glared at him. "I was spying on Chase…."

"Again?" Sam crossed his arms against his chest, not that he was surprised. When Megan had an idea in her head she wouldn't stop until she sought it out. "I thought we promised we wouldn't be doing that anymore."

"Oh chill out, Sam." she grabbed his hand. "Now teleport us to the computer lab, we have some information to find out."

"Why don't I like where this is going…." All it took was one dirty look from her and Sam was more than willing to cooperate with her. "Okay…Okay…I'll take you there now." In a quick flash both Sam and Megan were out of sight.

* * *

In the lounge room, Sky was sitting on the couch reading the Commander Handbook guide, everything that needed to be known and done to become an SPD Commander, while some of the other cadets were either watching TV or playing video games.

Bridge and Z were playing a card game with one of the younger D Squad cadets. The young, now eighteen year old, Green Ranger kept on looking over at Sky who hadn't seemed to notice his green friend staring at him so diligently. "Earth to Bridge." Z waved her hand in front of her friend's face. "It's your turn."

"Huh." Bridge shook his head and snapped back to paying attention to the game. "Oh, sorry." He put his card down.

"You okay?" asked Grant, the young fifteen year old cadet. "You looked like you were someplace else for a while." He looked over at Sky. "And I really don't think Lt. Tate would be pleased with you looking at him with that weird look on your face."

"Bridge." Z reached over and swatted Bridge in the head. "Were you using your powers on Sky? I told you that it's rude!" She kept her voice down, not wanting Sky to hear; not that it mattered, whenever Sky had a book to his face he seemed to be closed off from reality.

"I tried to, but…..I don't know….It's like…."

"Oh no," sighed Z, and she tossed her cards onto the table.

Grant followed her lead, seeing where this was going. "Not again…."

"I almost had it, but then I lost it…" Bridge started waving his hands in the air. "And then I had it again and then I didn't." He moved his head back and forth. "It was like boom and bang.'

"BRIDGE!!" both of them yelled.

"What?" He looked at them. Everything he had said had made perfect sense to him, and he couldn't understand why it made no sense to anyone else.

"You mind elaborating that in terms that we can understand?" Z asked.

Bridge sighed heavily; he hated it when no one could really understand him. The only one that seemed to be able to was Sophie, but she was on another planet and wouldn't be back for several months, until after her work with the computer mainframe was set up. "It's like he somehow is blocking me from seeing what he's feeling. I can't read him at all."

"Has that ever happened before?" asked Z.

Bridge shook his head. "No. The only thing I can think of is that somehow he's figured out a way to use his power to block me from using my power on him."

"Well, maybe he has; we all have lately been developing our powers more. I mean I can replicate myself five times more than I used to, and now I'm trying to replicate myself to be someplace else than I am."

"Like being at two places at once?" asked Grant.

"Interesting." Bridge rested his head on his hand. "So you could be like at the movies, fighting battles and sleeping at the same time?"

"Your parents dropped you as a baby, right?"

"No, unfortunately I think it's just Bridge being Bridge," said Z, as she put her cards down.

"Hey guys," exclaimed Syd as she walked up to the three, looking cheerful as ever.

"Hey Syd."

Z looked Syd over, she was dressed nicely, earrings and everything, a little too nice to be wearing at the Academy. "Going somewhere?" She grinned.

"Yes actually, Sky and I are going out, even if I have to drag him out myself."

"Good luck." Z looked over at Sky, who was still with his head in the book and didn't appear to even know that Syd was here. "He hasn't moved an inch for the last two hours."

"I don't need luck." Syd started to dance her way over to her workaholic boyfriend.

"You could say that again," exclaimed Grant, watching Syd, all wide-eyed and grinning, until Z elbowed him in the gut. "….hey!"

"Hey sweetie…" Syd plopped herself down next to Sky. "What're you reading?" She leaned over.

"The Commander Guide Handbook."

"Still? You aren't still sleeping with it are you?" she asked, knowing very well he probably was. She couldn't count the times she had caught him reading it in bed. "Haven't you read it like a hundred times? You should have it memorized by now."

"Can never be too prepared, Syd," answered Sky as he flipped to the next page.

"Okay, Mr. Hotshot, prepare for this." Syd yanked the book out of Sky's hand.

"Hey! Give that back!" Sky attempted to reach for the book and take it from Syd, but Syd quickly dodged and jumped off the couch, running around the room with his book. "This isn't funny, Syd. Give me back my book."

"You'll have to catch me first…." Syd grinned, laughing as the two then began to play a game of cat and mouse, nearly running into everybody in the room, but after a few minutes Sky finally caught up to Syd.

"Gotcha." He picked her up and pinned her to the couch. He took his book back from her and put it in his jacket pocket. "Payback time."

"And just what are you going to do?"

Sky smiled, though he was annoyed with her at the moment. He just couldn't be angry with her, looking into her bright blue eyes. It was a sort of peace; maybe he needed a little distraction - after all she was right, he did know the book by heart. "This…." He leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips.

"Hey guys, don't you think that's a little inappropriate to do here?" announced Z.

"No, it's fine." Grant jumped up, getting a better look at watching as the two made out. It wasn't every day he saw this side to Sky, just goofing off. Z turned her head and looked Grant right in the eyes with a hard stern icy stare. "What?"

"She's right…" Sky pulled away and helped Syd up, knowing they probably had gotten a little carried away. The lounge room was not meant to be used as a making-out room, in fact it was forbidden for any cadet and officers to act in this way while on the Academy premises. "Commander Cruger could show up at any moment." Though it wasn't against regulations for cadets and officers to date each other, it was frowned upon and the last thing he needed was for anything to prevent him from getting the rank of commander.

"Well then, we'll just have to start where we left off on our date tonight." She grinned, looking him in the eyes. "We still are going out tonight, aren't we?"

"Yeah. Of course we are….." answered Sky, as he stood up from the couch.

"Sky….." Syd started, seeing where this was going. "You promised."

"Don't worry. We're going to go out, I'm just going to run through the simulator a few rounds and afterwards, I'm all yours." He kissed her quickly on the cheek, before making his way out of the lounge, passing by Chase.

Syd pouted and sat down next to Z and Bridge, sighing heavily, disappointed that yet again Sky had put his training before her. Z patted her friend on the back and all it took was one look from her to Grant.

"Yeah. Yeah. I know…I'm out of here," he grumbled, as he got up from his chair to go and mingle with the other cadets.

"Did I miss something?" asked Chase as he sat down to join his teammates.

"Oh not really, nothing more than the usual," answered Z.

"Sky blew her off again?" exclaimed Chase, kind of surprised since early in the day Sky was talking about making things up with Syd for his lack of devotion towards her.

"Not exactly….." said Bridge. "He did promise to go out with her tonight; he just would be a little late."

"Well, if he promised." Chase grinned over to Syd. "Then I'm sure he'll be there. A guy would have to be crazy to miss out on a date with you."

That got a smile out of Syd; Chase definitely had become the charmer of the group, always trying to make everyone feel better. "Yeah. You're probably right."

* * *

In the SPD library Megan sat in front of a computer with Sam standing behind her, keeping his eyes watchful, making sure no one was paying much attention to them. "Hurry up, will yah…" whispered Sam.

"Chill. It's not like we're doing anything wrong, we are allowed to be on the computers."

"Yeah. Until you start doing your _hacking _tricks…."

Megan just rolled her eyes and continued on with her work. She typed in the name Lt. Chase Ryder, and a profile about him came up, giving his age, date of birth, home planet and where he was stationed now. It also gave a list of his records and skills and a few honors he had received. Megan scrolled to the bottom, and saw something about previous Ranger ranking. "Previous Ranger ranking, he was a Ranger before he came here?" She clicked onto it, but a message reading CONFIDENTIAL appeared on the screen. "Now why would that be confidential?"

"Because they don't want you to read that…."

"Yeah. We'll just see about that, Sammy-boy." Megan began typing on the keyboard, now more determined than ever to unlock what Chase had been keeping. "Yes…." she whispered, as she found a way around the security blockers, but what she found was what she wasn't expecting to find. The screen showed a listing and profile of both the Mirinoi A and B Squads; most of the photos shown had been faded out. A Squad Rangers: Dougy Banes, age 19, Blue Ranger; Link Marx, age 21, Green Ranger; Val Locke, age 19, Pink Ranger; and Callie Corbett, age 20, Yellow Ranger. Under all their names it read inactive, the same for the whole B Squad. The only one that wasn't faded out was the Red Ranger for the A Squad, Chase Ryder, age 22, Red Ranger with 'reassigned' under his name.

"Inactive? Doesn't that mean…."

"Yeah," answered Megan as she looked over it again, her eyes falling onto Callie Corbett's profile. Her face saddened and now she felt sick to her stomach, she knew now what Chase was hiding, but she never expected it would be anything like this.

* * *

Sky took a deep breath as he leaned his back against the wall, carefully looking over his shoulder, blaster in hand. He waited to make his move, watching as the shadow closed in. "Come out wherever you are, Sky. You know you can't win," he heard it taunt.

"Yeah. We'll just see about that!" Sky jumped out of hiding. "You're under arrest, Merlock!" BANG!! Sky fired shots at Merlock and carefully approached the alien, not taking his eyes off of him, knowing he was a crafty one with plenty of tricks up his sleeve.

A hand crept over Sky's shoulder, reaching to grab it. "Sky…"

"Ahhh…." Sky jumped, firing shots up in the air, giving time for Merlock to shoot him in the chest, a full blast. He dropped to the ground, clutching his shoulder.

"End simulation," announced Cruger. Merlock and the surroundings around them shimmered away. The old dog held out a hand to Sky. "You all right, Sky?"

Sky brushed the commander's hand away. "I'm fine," he replied sharply.

"I didn't mean to startle you, but I noticed that you had the simulator set at a dangerous level. Many cadets have been badly injured and some have even died during the simulation."

"I said I was _fine_, sir. I can handle it."

"The shields you're able to create don't make you bulletproof, Sky." Cruger gripped the young man's shoulder. "I can't afford to lose you; you are an important asset to this department."

Sky took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, not wanting to start an argument with Cruger that would most likely result in disciplinary action being taken against him. "Don't worry, sir; I don't plan on going anywhere for a long time. This is where I belong."

"Good." Cruger eyed him. "Now, don't you have a date you should be getting ready for?" Sky looked at the commander, a little surprised. "Don't think that just because I'm old I don't know what goes on beyond these walls."

"Of course, sir," answered Sky, smiling faintly. "I'll see you tomorrow." Sky headed out of the simulator room to go head out for his date with Syd, but not until after he had a quick shower.


	7. Headstrong

Chase was working at the kitchen table, with a pile of folders and documents in front of him. The one folder he had opened was filled with papers that were burnt in most places, and what hadn't been burnt was unreadable. He sighed heavily, running his hand over his face. It didn't seem to matter how many times he had looked through this folder, every time it was the same thing, a dead end. Nothing had changed. He kept on hoping that one day he would open the folder and would be able to read the papers and unlock the secrets it held. He heard the door open and shut behind him.

"You're coming in a little late…." Chase closed the folder up and stacked it with the paperwork he had brought back with him from work.

"Yeah." Megan walked in slowly, dropping her bag down. She was still feeling the effects of the information she had uncovered about Chase, a horrifying tragedy, much like how it had been for her father after her Uncle Wes had died during a fight. "Sam and I were in the computer lab, working on something."

"Oh…" He got up and put the files on the dresser in his bedroom. "Were you guys doing research for a project for class?'

"Not exactly…" Megan followed him, feeling a little uneasy. She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what. What could she say to a guy who has lost everything that was ever important to him? "Umm…. Where's Sky?" She recalled not seeing his bike out in the parking lot.

"Hopefully out with Sydney," he answered. He could tell right away that Megan was acting strangely and was not her usual cocky self, that something was off about the way she was acting. "Is everything okay, Megan?"

She sighed heavily, knowing there was no way she could keep this from him. Chase was pretty good at picking up on things and knew when something just wasn't right. "Callie Corbett, your fiancée…." She bit her lip. "….She's dead. And so are your friends, …..the other Rangers."

Chase bit his lip, and just replied flatly, "Where'd you hear about that?"

"I hacked into the SPD confidential files." She looked him in the eyes, with a heavy heart. "….I'm sorry."

"Sorry that you hacked into sealed files?" He looked her in the eyes, not sure what to think or how he should feel about this. "….Or that you found out?"

"I'm sorry about what happened to you," she answered. Though she didn't know just how it felt to be him, she did know what it could do to a person. She could recall very early in her life, vague memories of her father dealing with the guilt and pain of the loss of his friend, his teammate, his _brother_. "…..I know it's not easy."

Chase licked his lips; for some reason he couldn't be angry with Megan, after all he couldn't expect her to leave everything the way it was with him saying he just had nightmares. "Because of your dad?"

"Yeah. He took Wes's death real hard. Things were so bad that it nearly cost my parents' marriage."

"How'd…..How'd he get through it, get past it all?" Though he was moving on with his life, a part of him just couldn't let go of certain things. He had accepted Callie's, his teammates', his friends', deaths months ago, but his nightmares just wouldn't go away, and it made it all the harder to get past it.

That had been one of his reasons for leaving; he just could no longer look Commander Corbett in the eyes, the man who in some ways had been like a father to him. It just became too painful for him to be around him, after what happened. So after a couple of months of training the commander's son Mikey, the brother of the woman he would always love, he put in his transfer papers.

"He started over, it took a few years, but he was finally able to move on and forgive himself."

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself." He might be able to move on with his life, make new friends and maybe someday fall in love again, but he wasn't too sure if he could ever truly forgive himself for what had happened.

* * *

"I've missed you," exclaimed Syd as she wrapped her arms around Sky's bare back. He had shown up just a few minutes ago and the two had headed straight for her bedroom and started making out, anticipating what would follow…

"Syd, we see each other practically every day." Sky kissed her, taking in the scent of her skin.

Syd giggled when he went over a ticklish spot on her shoulder. She ran her hands down his arms and looked into his blue eyes, eyes she had come to love. "I know, but it's not the same. You're always doing something at the Academy…"

"Well…. it is work." He grinned. "That kind of means I need to be making sure everything's in order, no criminals running amuck, following orders from Cruger."

"I know. I just wish you'd have fun every once in a while, and not work yourself too hard."

"I _am_ having fun." He looked her deeply in the eyes, as he leaned down and kissed her deeply on the lips. It did feel good to get away from work, put all his problems behind him and just spend some quality time with Syd.

Syd ran her hand across his muscular chest, just feeling the smoothness of his skin and enjoying Sky's soft gentle kisses. She ran her hand further up towards his shoulder and noticed something different, that wasn't as smooth. "What's that?" She opened her eyes.

"It's nothing…." Sky answered as he hushed her with more kisses, deepening them the more he got into it. "Don't worry about it."

Syd was going to let it go, until she ran her hand over it again. Something wasn't right and she wanted to know why. "No! Sky something's wrong with your shoulder." She pushed him off of her and that was when she noticed a rather large red and blue mark on his shoulder, a sort of burn marking. "How'd that happen?" She started to reach towards it, but Sky gently pushed her hand away.

"It's nothing, Syd. Just a little bruise."

"Just a little bruise!" she exclaimed. "It doesn't look like it to me." She had seen little bruises before, and had had quite a few. In her line of work, it was fairly normal to end up bruised after a day's work. But the one on Sky's shoulder looked more like someone had used him as target practice and had won. She couldn't quite figure out why she hadn't noticed it until just now, but with Sky smothering her with kisses it was no wonder she hadn't noticed - and she was one hundred percent sure that was why Sky was doing that, knowing she would react and become upset.

"So now you're a doctor?" he replied flatly, with a little annoyance. Cruger had already gotten on his case, the last thing he needed was for Syd to do the same thing.

"No…" she answered, a little hurt by the tone of his voice. "I'm just worried about you, is all. Is that so wrong?"

"You don't have to be." Sky reached for his shirt which was lying on Syd's bed and put it back on. "I'm a big boy, Syd. I don't need anyone to worry about me!"

"Well, somebody has to…." She watched as he got up from her bed and headed towards the bedroom door. "Where are you going?"

"Home!" he answered, as he turned to face her. "I can't be around you when you're like this." He hated it when people questioned him and got worried about the things he did. He had taken care of himself for a long time and had turned out just fine.

"What! When I'm worried about your wellbeing?" Syd yelled, getting into his face, angry and hurt that he was going to let something like this ruin their night together. "Well, I'm sorry if you can't get past your thick head and your damn pride to see that I care about what happens to you!" No longer able to hold back her emotions, they all came out in a sob, as her eyes filled with tears. Upset, she turned away from him and went towards her bed, dropping down onto it, crying softly.

Sky started for the door and had his hand reaching for the knob, fully intending just to get out of there and let Syd be, not wanting to deal with this. He sighed heavily, knowing he couldn't just leave things the way they were. He didn't want to be one of those jerkish guys that he knew everyone thought he was ….unlike Syd who thought the world of him and chose to see a different side of him.

"Sydney…."

"What?" She pouted as she turned around to face him, eyes sparkling with tears. "Did I say something else that made you angry?"

"I'm sorry…." He crawled onto the bed with her, drawing her into his arms. "I was a jerk and I shouldn't have overreacted like that." He kissed her gently on the forehead.

"I'm sorry I worry about you so much…." She snuggled against him, glad that he hadn't left and that they were able to work things out.

"It's okay." He smiled faintly, drawing her closer to him. "I guess I do need someone to worry about me every once in a while." He kissed her gently on the lips. "From now on I'll try being more careful in the simulator."

Syd smiled, her eyes now only sparkling with a few tears that hadn't been shed. "Thanks." She caressed his cheek, and gave him a kiss of her own.

He grinned. "Besides, I didn't make it all the way to red just to be killed off in the simulator. I intend to be around for a long time."

"You better be; we need you, Sky, _I_ need you…." She looked deep into his eyes, just lost in this moment, a moment she never wanted to end. "I love you…." she finally admitted, no longer afraid to say those words. They had been the very words she had wanted to say after they had defeated Gruumm, but had been too afraid back then.

Sky just smiled as he gently stroked her cheek, running his hand through her blonde curls. He leaned in and kissed her softly, wanting it to last, feel her body against his, but that only lasted a few short moments, until the kiss drew into a deeper passionate kiss.

**Mirinoi**

A large group of over a hundred cadets ranging from ages seventeen to twenty-four, all were training in the rather large training room that had everything you could think of that would be essential to training. Some were practicing in the shooting range; others were lifting weights, while the majority was paired up, sparring with each other.

Mikey Corbett, who had become one of the top fighters in his squadron and class, was sparring against one of the older officers who oversaw their training. Van Wheeler had been at the Academy for a number of years, but had never been quite good enough to make it to Ranger mode. Office Wheeler was throwing everything he had at the young cadet, he had been under high orders to work the young Corbett boy hard, harder than any of the other cadets, so that no one felt that because he was the Commander's son he would get special treatment.

It didn't seem to matter what kind of kick or punch he threw at the boy, Mike found some way of blocking it, by either avoiding it or coming in with a counterattack. Officer Wheeler could tell that the young Corbett was training hard every day, and had improved since three weeks ago when they had started this session. He took a deep breath and then went on the attack, throwing punches and then did a roundhouse kick, aimed straight for the boy's head, but Mikey was ready; he avoided the attack and saw his opening and knocked the officer's feet out from under him, sending him down to the mat.

"Excellent, Corbett…."

"Thank you, sir." Mikey held out his hand to help Officer Wheeler back to his feet.

"Attention!" rang in a voice.

"Yes, sir!" On cue, all the cadets and officers in the room stood at attention as their Commander faced them. His eyes were hard and stern; this was one of the few times that some of them had seen him in the months since the passing of his daughter and several other cadets and officers.

Mike Corbett eyed them all, walking back and forth with his hands behind his back. He stopped in the center to face them all. "I want you to know first, that I am very proud of each and every one of you. You all have worked hard and have improved greatly in these last few weeks." He paused for a moment, needing to gather his words. "….But unfortunately, I can only select ten of you to move up to Ranger level." They had not trained for long and normally it took over a year before selecting a team, but with no active Rangers he needed to choose two new teams to replace the teams he had lost months ago. He pulled out a sheet from his pocket and eyed the cadets once more. "I want the cadets whose names I call to come forward." He cleared his throat. "Bo Davis… Tyler James, Vee Minks, Alison Woods, and for red leader, Duncan Black."

Mike eyed the five with a very proud look on his face. "Congratulations, you are the A Squad Power Rangers. I know you will make all of us proud."

"Thank you, sir!" announced the new A Squad Rangers as they saluted their commander.

Mike nodded to one of the officers to hand over the A Squad morphers to the cadets. Bo Davis received the blue morpher, Tyler James received the green morpher, Vee Minks received the yellow morpher, Alison Woods received the pink morpher, and their new leader Duncan received the red morpher.

Once again Mike eyed the group of cadets; there would be only five more names he would call, for those who would take on the position of B Squad rangers, an equally important job as the A Squad. He cleared his throat. "Step forward when I call your name: Kylie Jones, George Banks, Maxwell Michaels, Zoë Hunt, and for the leader of the B Squad Rangers…" his eyes wandered until they locked with the one cadet he was the most proud of. "…Michael Corbett Jr." He looked at the five. "Congratulations, you are the B Squad Power Rangers. I know you won't let us down."

"Thank you, sir!" announced the new B Squad Rangers, as they, like the A Squad, saluted their commander. One by one they each received their morpher. Kylie got pink, George got green, Maxwell got blue and Zoë got yellow. It was Mike who walked up to his son to hand him the red morpher, just as he had done years ago with his daughter.

Mikey looked his father straight in the eyes, thankful for this opportunity; he would not let him down. He had a lot to live up to; he came from a whole family of Power Rangers and was honored to carry on the tradition.

"To the rest of you, I want to thank you for your hard work and dedication, and hope that you all carry on here as cadets and officers of SPD, working alongside the Rangers. Even a Power Ranger needs help every now and then," Mike announced as he eyed the cadets who had not made it to a Ranger squadron.

"Yes sir!" they all announced, and saluted their commander.

**Back on Earth**

Sky awoke the next morning to find Sydney asleep cradled in his arms. After their argument and workings things out, both of them had gotten exhausted and decided just to stay in. He looked over at her clock; it was five in the morning. He carefully unwrapped her arms from around his body, then pulled the covers back over her, knowing it would be a couple more hours until she would wake up. He got up and quickly got dressed. Before he left he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.

"I'll see yah later, Syd."

It was about twenty minutes later when Sky walked into his darkened apartment. He set his keys on the counter and headed into his room to change his clothes. He made enough noise to cause Chase to walk into the main living area with a baseball bat; he heard noises coming from Sky's room but saw no lights on. He slowly made his way over to the door and then got the scare of his life when Sky opened the door the rest of the way to reveal himself. Both of them startled each other.

"What the hell are you doing with the bat?"

"I thought you were an intruder!" exclaimed Chase, as he lowed the bat and set it aside. "What were you doing in the dark?"

"Changing into a clean uniform before I headed to the Academy for training."

"Did you just get in?" Chase looked at the clock; it was about 5:35 A.M.

"Yeah. Spent the night at Syd's."

"Oh. So you did go see her." Almost implying that he hadn't expected that to happen. He knew he had told Syd that Sky would show up, but at the time he had just been saying what he knew Syd wanted to hear.

"Yeah," answered Sky, a little annoyed that everyone seemed to believe that he wasn't devoted to Syd. "I did promise her I'd go see her. I'm not that heartless."

"What's going on?" yawned Megan as she joined the two, stretching her arms out, having been awakened by the conversation. She had always been a light sleeper, and could be woken up by the sound of a pen dropping.

"Sky's just getting back from his night with Sydney," grinned Chase, winking over at Megan.

"Great," sighed Sky as he pushed past Chase. "It was bad enough when it was just her, now it's the both of you." He headed towards the door, grabbing his keys from the counter.

Megan yawned again, still a little sleepy. "Where you going?"

"To the Academy."

"But we don't have training sessions for another four hours."

"I know." Sky turned, eyeing Chase. "I'm going to go and train in the simulator until then." He then turned his eyes onto Megan. "I expect you to behave yourself and do your homework." With that said, Sky was out the door.

Chase turned to Megan. "You'd think that since he's moody during the day, that in the morning he'd be perky."

"Sky, perky? That'll be the day." Megan yawned. "I'm going back to bed."

* * *

"You both are going down!" announced Sky, as his eyes were locked on both Merloc and another alien creature. He held his blaster out at both of them, shooting and dodging the blasts they sent at him by jumping behind a pillar.

The shots reflected off of the pillar, missing Sky completely. The red leader Ranger turned and blasted several shots, each of them hitting right on target. "You call this a fight? I didn't even break a sweat." Sky watched as his target got up from the ground, ready for another round. This wasn't the workout that Sky was hoping for, this wasn't even a challenge to him; it was all just too easy. 'Simulator, change level to danger zone."

"_Simulation, changing levels. Enemy targets now at extreme max power…."_

Sky watched as Merloc blasted a shot at the pillar he was standing behind, it was so powerful that it caused the pillar to break down. Sky jumped and rolled out of the way just in time. "That's more like it." He fired two shots at Merloc who reflected both of them, sending them flying against the left and right walls.

"Surely you can do better than that, Lt. Tate," sneered the simulated version of Merloc. He was like the real Merloc in almost every way, right down to his determination to take out Sky, a type of program setting that Sky liked to have. It made the battle all the more real and not like a simulation.

"I'm just getting started." Sky clipped his blaster to his belt, then waving his hand, calling the simulator to equip him with a sword. He swung it a few times in a quick swift motion and just grinned at Merloc. "This is more like it." His eyes narrowed down right onto the alien form that represented the beast that had taken his father's life. "You're going down, freak!" Sky made a loud battle cry as he jumped forward, slashing Merloc with the swords, sparks flying everywhere. He then twirled around, slashing the purple alien in the arm. "Well…"

Merloc's yellow eyes just glowed a bright yellow. "Time to step things up."

Sky watched in amazement as Merlock called forth a weapon. Something that he had never seen happen before in the past levels, the simulator enemy targets had already come equipped with everything they needed and never had been able to even communicate with the simulation process of asking for weapons, yet alone anything else. "What…."

"You're not the only one with tricks." Merloc made a comeback, jumping high and raising his sword just above Sky. Sky reacted quickly, raising his sword to block the hit, but Merloc's swing was hard and the moment it made contact with his sword it sliced it in two. "Seems you underestimated me. …..So much like your father."

Sky looked at his sword, not much was left of it; the rest lay on the floor. It was useless to him now, he would not be able to defend himself with half of a sword. "Time for you to die…." He heard Merloc's voice echo in his head. Sky looked up and watched as Merloc prepared to take a swing at him. He quickly dropped the broken piece of sword to the ground, getting ready to create one of his protective shields, but to his disbelief the other alien that he had been fighting earlier appeared behind him, grabbing a hold of both his arms and preventing him from using his shield. All Sky could do was watch as Merloc attacked him with the sword, slashing it against his chest, cutting his uniform to shreds.

Outside the simulation room, Bridge was walking past and heard an alarm start to go off. He looked up at a screen that began to flash EMERGENCY over and over. His heart skipped a beat. He turned towards the window and watched as Sky dropped to the ground, both the simulator created alien criminals attacking his best friend and leader. "Sky!" Bridge immediately rushed towards the door and began to enter in the code. Once he was inside: "End simulation!"

_"Simulation cannot be stopped. Error 509 code TW02 Red….. Clearance card need to terminate simulation." _

Bridge ducked his head as a couple of blasts drove above him. He slowly lifted his head up and saw another code box, but the simulator creature must have caught wind of what he was doing as they began shooting at him. Luckily Bridge had been able to jump far enough and reach the area where the other code box was. He quickly pulled out his ID card and swiped it through the scanner. He turned and watched as the simulation began to wither away, as the room returned to normal. He watched as both Merloc and the other alien disappeared. He took a deep breath and gave a sigh of relief. Then remembering Sky: "Sky…."

Bridge ran to his fallen leader, who was barely moving on the ground. He dropped down next to him. "Sky…. Sky….." the green ranger repeated several times over. "Are you okay?" he asked as he reached to check him over.

"I'm fine…." Sky shoved Bridge's hands off of him and attempted to stand up, but felt a sharp pain in his chest. "Ahh…." Sky cried.

"I think you've cracked a couple of your ribs," noted Bridge, watching as Sky clutched tightly to his chest, not surprising since his uniform shirt had been torn to shreds. "I need to get you to Kat." Bridge carefully put Sky's arm around his neck and helped his friend to his feet.

Kat was working in the lab, when Bridge walked in with Sky. She turned around and her eyes widened. "What…What happened?' she rushed over to them and helped Bridge get Sky over to one of the medical beds. "Was there an attack?" she asked, as she careful pulled the remaining pieces of Sky's uniform shirt and jacket off so she could get a better look.

"No. I found him like this in the simulator…."

"The simulator?" Kat exclaimed, as she turned to Sky, knowing there was only one possible way for Sky to have the injuries he had. "Did you have it set above the regulation standards?" Sky just turned his head away, not wanting to answer the question, knowing that he would just get another lecture about how reckless and stupid it is to have it set at the highest level possible. "Do you have any idea how stupid that was, Sky? You're lucky that Bridge showed up when he did, otherwise…."

"Otherwise what?" he snapped, as he turned to face her. "I could be dead? I knew what I was doing, Kat. I can take care of myself…."

"Sure you can." She knew it was pointless talking any sense into his thick stubborn head, especially after something like this. There was no way Sky was going to admit that what he had done was not only dumb, but careless. "I'm going to get some tape for your ribs, and once I'm done I want you to take the rest of the day off and come in to see me tomorrow."

"I can't take the day off. I have a class I need to teach with Chase in an hour,"

"Not today you don't. You're lucky, I'm deciding not to contact Commander Cruger about this, otherwise your ass would really be in hot water." She turned to Bridge. "Bridge can take your place today with teaching the class."

"Yeah. It's really no problem, Sky. I'd be happy to help." He gripped his friend's shoulder. "I can even call Syd for you; maybe she can come pick you up and…."

"No!" Sky's face tensed as he felt Kat wrap the tape tightly around his ribs. "Don't call Syd. In fact, don't tell her about this, she doesn't need to know."

"But Sky…"

"Don't tell her, Bridge," he looked his young friend deep in the eyes, a look that said if you tell it, I swear to God I will beat the living daylights out of you. "You got it?"

"Yeah." Bridge sighed heavily. "I got it."

"Good."

* * *

"Oh, it's been too long," announced Hayley as she hugged her old friend tightly, overjoyed to see her after all this time.

"I know what you mean." Lilly returned the embrace. She and Hayley hadn't seen each other for years; the last time they had really seen each other was briefly at Hayley and Eric's wedding, but they hadn't had much of a chance to talk.

Once the two pulled apart, Hayley began to introduce her to everyone, starting with Eric, her husband. "You should remember Eric."

"Hey." Eric put out his hand, giving her a firm handshake. "It's good to see you again."

"You too." She smiled. "It will be really nice to get to talk to you, to get to know you."

Hayley walked over to her kids, putting her arms around them. "And this is Erin and Wesley, our two youngest. Megan's in Newtech City, attending the SPD Academy."

"Hi," said Erin, putting out her hand to greet her mother's friend.

"It's nice to meet you Erin."

"You're pretty," grinned Wes, putting on his little boyish charm that he had always given the ladies.

"Well, aren't you the little charmer." Lily looked over to Eric. "Must get that from his dad."

"I don't know if I'd go as far as saying that," announced Tommy as he joined the group, coming in from the kitchen. It had been a good number of years since he had last seen Lilly; even at Hayley and Eric's wedding the two hadn't talked or even seen each other.

"Tommy." Lilly smiled, and she wrapped her arms around her old friend. "It's been a long time." It had been at least twenty-three years since the two had last seen each other, since Tommy had upped and left the college they had attended together to go work with Mercer.

"Too long."

"Well, how 'bout we all head out back." Hayley smiled, putting her arms around two of her oldest friends. "Drake and his daughter should be here shortly."

"Now Hayley, I thought I told you I wasn't ready to date…"

"I know. Drake's just a friend." She looked her friend in the eyes. "And if you're going to be moving here, you're going to need all the friends you can get," exclaimed Hayley. All Lilly could do was just grin, leave it to Hayley to set her up with someone, just like she had back in their college days.

A couple of hours later the group was sitting out on the back porch, while the kids played soccer with the dog. Hayley got up and started to clear off the dishes, motioning to Lilly to just stay seated. Eric followed his wife's lead and helped her with the dishes, but not before firmly pushing Drake back into his seat. Lilly just had to grin, she couldn't deny that Drake was pretty cute; he definitely did not look forty-eight and he was strong too, almost military-like, he just did not seem the security guard type.

"Your daughter's very beautiful."

When Drake didn't answer, Tommy kicked him in the ankle from under the table. "….Thank you." He didn't know why he was so nervous, it wasn't like this was a date or anything, just a small gathering to get to know each other, make a new friend. "She gets that from her mother."

"You must miss her."

He did miss her. Everyday. Jill had meant everything to him and more, it had been because of her that he understood what love really is and how much you would do to keep it. It also had been when he had truly learned what had gone on between Wes and Jen; how it was possible to fall in love with someone from another time, someone you could never have. "Everyday." He sighed heavily. "Excuse me…." He got up and left, walking around the front of the house.

Lilly watched as he went and turned to Tommy. "I hope I didn't upset him."

"No." Tommy shook his head. "He just gets like that sometimes. Hasn't had the easiest life…" And that would be an understatement; Drake…or Alex, rather, had experienced so much throughout his life, more than most people face in a lifetime. "He'll be okay."

Lilly nodded her head; she had a feeling there was more to it than Tommy was telling her, but that was something she was used to. She remembered Tommy as being this mysterious guy who seemed to have this whole other life he kept hidden from everyone. "So how've you been……" A grim smile came over her face. "Hayley told me about Kimberly. I'm sorry."

"Thanks. It's gotten easier, just been keeping busy." And while it had gotten a little easier to get up in the morning, he knew he might never really get over something like this. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be…"

"Don't say that." She reached out and gently gripped his hand. "You guys can work things out, try again."

"No. I don't know. I'm not as young as I used to be."

"You're forty-two, that's hardly _that _old." She looked him in the eyes and smiled. "Remember, we're only a couple months apart. If you're old, that makes me old. And I like to think of myself as still very young."

Tommy had to laugh at that. "Thanks. But I think I'm just fine, being the good old uncle." He turned, watching the kids play and run around. Wes and Erin and their sister, who was away, had become his whole world the moment they walked into his life. He had been grateful when Eric and Hayley had asked him to be both Wes's and Erin's godfather.

Lilly watched Tommy, smiling faintly to herself, but there was a hidden sadness in her eyes as if she carried a great weight over her shoulders.


	8. Missing Pieces

Megan peeked into Sky's room and found him fast asleep. She had been more than a little surprised when just hours ago Kat had shown up with Sky. When she had asked Sky what he was doing home so early, or even more, why Kat was with him, he had said nothing and headed straight for his room, shutting the door behind him. All Kat had basically told her was to keep an eye on him and to make sure he didn't go anywhere. But by the way she had seen Sky walking and holding onto his chest, she could only assume that he had somehow injured himself.

It seemed to her lately that Sky was working too hard, much harder than he had in the past, almost like he had something to prove. But to whom? He had already made Lieutenant and was a Red Ranger, leader of the A squad. He had lived up to his father's legacy, what else was there? She wanted to call her dad and tell him what was going on, but she knew that if she did that she wouldn't hear the end of it from Sky. He wasn't the type that was too keen on those heart to heart talks, and didn't really like anyone getting into his business, whether someone needed to or not. You wouldn't know it by watching him sleep, he looked so peaceful lying there, and not a man who was on a reckless path. Megan smiled faintly as she closed the door.

She was headed to the couch to watch some TV when she heard the faint sound of an alarm going off. She followed the sound that led her straight into Chase's room. It was his clock alarm going off. "And I thought he had the brains to turn this thing off in the morning." She flipped it off, but as she was headed out of the room she accidentally bumped into his table, knocking down a few of his folders.

"Great!" she muttered, as she bent down to pick them up and stack them back together. She was getting ready to set the last one on top, when a few sheets dropped out. They didn't look much of anything, half burnt, and what where there was nearly impossible to ready. _What reason would he have for keeping this?_ she wondered; it didn't even seem worth saving. That's when she noticed another sheet of paper lying on the floor that was handwritten and mostly was scratched out pieces and fragments of words. She looked from the sheet to the burnt pieces of paper. "He's trying to figure out what this says…."

* * *

Commander Cruger was in the Command Center going over today's reports, when Commander Mike Corbett appeared on the screen. "Commander Cruger, do you read?"

Cruger set the reports aside and typed a few keys on the keyboard to bring up the connection. "Yes, I read you, loud and clear. How are you?" It had been a while since he had last heard from Mike Corbett; the last time he had spoken to him was regarding Chase's transfer to the Earth base.

"I am good sir, thank you." Over the years Mike had grown a great amount of respect for Cruger, that seemed to be the only thing other than his family that kept him going with leading his base on Mirinoi. "I just wanted to inform you that Mirinoi is back in active Ranger status, both A and B have been filled. I will be transmitting their files to you later in the week."

"That is good to hear." exclaimed Cruger. He had known it was very difficult for him after the horrible accident, so many deaths and the loss of his only daughter, it couldn't have been easy. "Your son, did you select him……"

"Yes. He's the B Squad Red Ranger." It had been a very hard decision for him to make; Mikey was the only child he had left, his only son. His first motive as a father was to protect his son, keep him out of harm's way, but he knew he couldn't hold him back. Mikey would only come to resent him if he did, as hard as it was he needed to let his son go and be the man he knew he could become. "…..He earned it."

"I'm sure he did." Cruger knew it couldn't be easy for Mike to allow the last of his heirs to become a Ranger, one of the most dangerous positions in their league, especially after losing Callie. "He'll make a fine addition."

"Yeah." Mike smiled faintly. "He learned from the best." He gulped in softly, clearing his throat. "It was Chase who worked with him."

"Chase?" Cruger asked. "As in Lt. Chase Ryder?"

"Yeah." Mike nodded his head. "Before he left for Earth, he worked with Mikey, night and day." He recalled even when the kids were younger, back when Chase and Callie had been first dating, how good Chase was with Mikey and even his two nephews; he would always make sure to include them. That had been why it was so hard for him to let Chase go. "…..How is Chase?"

"He is doing well here; he's sharing an apartment with Sky Tate, Commander Wesley Collins' son."

"Good. I'm glad he's making friends. He deserves it….." And he really meant it, though he was very hurt by Chase's leaving. He would never wish him any harm, only the best.

"Would you like me to give him a message?"

Mike thought about it for a moment, there were so many things he wanted to say to the young man, but he knew he needed to give it time; Chase's leaving did have a lot to do with him. "Just that we miss him and that I hope he finds what he's looking for."

"I will be sure to pass that along to him, when I see him."

"Thank you, sir. I'll talk to you later, Corbett out."

Kat Manx entered into the Command Center just as Cruger ended the connection with Mirinoi. "Was that Commander Corbett?" she asked.

"Yes." Cruger turned to face her. "He was contacting me, letting me know that he selected the two Ranger teams."

"That's good news."

"Yes, it is." He searched her eyes, as if waiting for her to say something, but when she said nothing and went about her work, going towards one of the computer consuls, he approached her. "I walked in on one of Chase and Sky's classes today with the cadets." Kat didn't answer, just went on with her work, she had known it would be very difficult to keep anything from him regarding anyone in the Academy, especially when they were his Rangers. "I was surprised to find Bridge teaching the class today, in Sky's place."

"Really?" she answered. "How was he doing?"

"Fine." Cruger walked to Kat's other side, when she avoided his gaze. He was a dog on a mission and he wasn't going to let her go that easily. "And when I asked why Sky wasn't teaching the class, nor was anywhere in the Academy, Bridge just said that Sky wasn't feeling well and had to cancel." He stuck his nose in closer to Kat's face. "Care to add to that, Dr. Manx?"

"Bridge was correct, Sky wasn't feeling well." She faced him. "So I sent him home. As one of the head doctors of this establishment I have the authority to do that and do not need to run it by you," she exclaimed sharply; she was in no way intimated by the big blue dog and would not let him scare her.

"Perhaps." Cruger put his arms behind his back. "But it is my business when one of my top officers disobeys my orders."

"And I am sure Lt. Tate is well aware of that, Commander."

"Yes." Cruger started towards the exit of the Command Center, but before he exited out the sliding doors he turned to face Kat once more. "Oh and Kat, be sure that you tell Lt. Tate after your appointment with him, to come and see me."

"Of course, sir."

* * *

Megan was sitting in the living room with the file that Chase had been working on open in her lap, when Sky walked out of his room and headed towards the fridge, walking a little stiffly, still clutching at his ribs. He wasn't about to complain about the pain, he was too stubborn and knew he wouldn't get any sympathy from anyone, not that he was looking for it. He pulled out a bottle of water and headed towards the couch.

"What you working on?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

"Nothing…." She quickly closed the folder and got up, knowing that if Sky caught her looking though Chase's things, she'd be in deep trouble and he might tell her parents she had been misbehaving or something. On the other hand, she could threaten to tell her parents what he has been up to, but decided to just leave things be.

"Whatever." Sky reached for the remote, hoping to find something good on TV. He hated just sitting around and doing nothing, but Kat had made it perfectly clear that he had to take it easy for the rest of the day. She wouldn't even let him drive his bike back to the apartment, and while he could go against her better judgment, he was sure enough she would know one way or another if he went against her orders. "Great, nothing but a bunch of crap on!" He tossed the remote onto the table.

"Somebody got off the wrong side of the bed," muttered Megan as she returned back from her bedroom.

Sky just gave her a dirty look filled with annoyance. This was another reason he hated being laid up for the day. Not only did he just have to sit on his butt, he had to do it while Megan was staying at the apartment and put up with her smart-aleck remarks. "Don't you have some homework to do?" He crossed his arms against his chest, being sure not to put any pressure on it.

"I finished it yesterday, genius." Megan crossed her arms against her chest, she might be only fourteen and have to listen to him, but sometimes Sky did go over the line and she wasn't the type that was afraid to stand up to him. "But you really wouldn't know that, seeing as you're hardly ever around anymore. Otherwise you would know I always have my homework done by Friday, so I have both Saturday and Sunday free to do what I want with." she stomped off into the kitchen when the phone began to ring. "I'll get it…."

Sky just shook his head and grabbed the newspaper that was lying on the coffee table and began to read it, hoping to get a few minutes of peace, although that wouldn't last for long. "Oh hey, Syd….." Megan said in a brightened tone that made Sky just tense up in his seat on the couch. He watched as Megan walked around, keeping her eyes locked on him, giving one of her devious looks. "Yeah. I'm doing great, yep all my studies are done for the week. Ah….huh…..Yeah…..Oh, Sky…."

The Red Ranger's eyes widened as he began shaking his head no and waving his hands, not saying a word, knowing if Syd heard his voice then she definately would know he was there. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to Syd and explain why he was home.

Megan just shook her head and walked around the couch. Though she could tell Syd that Sky was sitting in the very room she was walking around in she wouldn't sink that low with Sky. "No. He and Chase are still at the Academy, but when they get in I'll be sure to tell Sky to give you a call. Yeah….No problem….Talk to you later. Bye…" She hung up the phone.

"Thanks…." Sky muttered, under his breath.

"Yeah. No problem…" sighed Megan, as she went into her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Sky sighed heavily. Was Megan right, had he really not been around lately? Syd seemed to believe that was the case, that he had been working far too much and not spending any time with her at all. And now Megan seemed to be asking for the same thing, some attention that he hadn't given in a while. …. But then again, didn't they know how important this was to him? What his goals meant, what he wanted to accomplish right now? It wasn't like he had flown the coop, he was still around, just not as much as he used to be. But once he got to the point where he wanted to be, things would go back to normal; he would fix things between himself and Syd, and with Megan. …..But even as he thought that, he wondered, was that enough for them?

Not wanting to complicate it any more, Sky returned his concentration to the newspaper, hoping to clear his head and take his mind off of things.

* * *

Z was in the memorial room, held to honor the fallen Rangers and officers of SPD. She hadn't really ever spent much time in here before, having not known any of the fallen, those who bravely sacrificed their lives for others. Most of them from before she first came to SPD, she had never really heard of. Not even about Sky's father, only the few bits and pieces that he would say in front of the team, back in the early days. But now, being here over a year, she had come to know each and every one of them, learning their stories. But the one that struck her the most was the only one who was not dead.

Cliff Chan. Only a chosen few knew that he was still alive. She was one of them. It really hadn't occurred to her until then how attached she had become to him. She barely knew him, but there was just something about him that she felt drawn to. That had been why she had agreed to track him down for Cruger, to see what he had been up to. With her ability to replicate herself, and learning to be in more than one place at a time, she was the perfect candidate. But soon, Cliff the highly trained former A Squad Yellow Ranger had caught wind of her presence and asked her to not follow him any longer.

She still recalled the sad look in his eyes, the pain, the guilt, the unworthiness, as if he no longer deserved anything from anyone. And when she touched him, the look in his eyes said it all, that it had been so long since he felt any kind of warmth and kindness. Love…. _Love…._ She didn't know why or even how, but she had developed strong feelings for someone who really was a stranger to her. Or was he a stranger? She might not have experienced everything he had, but she knew what it was like to feel a great loss. The memory of her parents' deaths still lay deep within her heart, and the painful memories of being rejected, never believing she would ever experience love or kindness again. At least, until the day she meant Jack, who took her under his wing and became her big brother. She learned to love again. Her smile faded as she stared at Cliff's photo, wondering if he would ever feel love again. He had rejected her touch after a few seconds, looking as though he could no longer be loved.

"You know him or something?" asked Chase, as he entered into the room.

"He saved my life ….and the Rangers." She turned to face him. "But no, I really didn't know him."

"Yeah." Chase nodded his head. "He _was_ a good fighter."

"Did you know him?'

Chase was silent for a moment, careful how to choose his words. "Our paths crossed once." He looked at his watch. "Well, I'm off. I'll see you tomorrow, Z." He smiled as he bid her farewell and headed out, but not before he accidentally bumped into Bridge. "Oh, sorry about that, Bridge."

"It's not a problem." Bridge waved him off and then joined Z, wanting to ask her if she would join him for dinner before his night shift would start. "You're still thinking about him, aren't you?" he asked, picking up on a few of her thoughts.

"You're using your ability again, aren't you?" She turned to face him with a smile.

"Sorry. I can't always help it. It just comes to me."

"It's okay, sometimes it's kind of nice to have a friend to know what you're feeling."

Bridge smiled; he was grateful to find such nice and understanding friends who didn't get freaked out by his ability, especially when it was possible for him to pick up on their inner deepest thoughts. "….So I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me, before I start my shift."

"Sure. But weren't you here all day today, working with Chase and the cadets?" she asked, looking at him questioningly.

"I was covering for Sky," he answered, as they headed down the hall towards the café.

"Sky?" she exclaimed. "Our Sky, all work and no play Sky, didn't show up to work today?"

"He wasn't feeling too well…"

"But that's never stopped him before," recalling the several other times that Sky continued to work even though he might have been sick or a little banged up.

"Well, this time was different," answered Bridge all too quickly. "So how your and Syd's surveillance training with the cadets been going?" he asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Not so fast, Greenie." Z grabbed Bridge by the shoulder, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "You may be able to see other people's thoughts and what's going to happen, but you're still one hell of a bad liar." She looked him hard in the eyes, letting him know he wasn't going to get off that easy. "Did something happen to Sky today?"

Bridge was in a hard position. While Sky had made it clear not to tell Syd, he had never said anything about the others. But Bridge was pretty sure that even though his leader and best friend didn't say it, it meant the others as well. Struggle and desperation was written all over his face; while he wanted to tell her, knew he should tell her, he didn't want to break that bond of trust with Sky. "….He's fine. That's all I can tell you."

"He did something stupid again, didn't he, in the simulator?" She was going to keep pressing him until she got a straight answer. "Syd told me about the bruise she saw on his shoulder. He got hurt, didn't he? And made you promise not to tell the rest of us."

Bridge didn't answer, not that he needed to. Z could find the answer written all over his face. He was never one for keeping secrets or telling lies, never had been very good at it. He had always been an honest guy. Z just shook her head. "That asshole, when I get through with him he's going to _need_ a doctor…"

"Just don't tell Syd…"

"What?" she exclaimed, not believing what she was hearing. "She's _our_ friend, _our_ teammate and most importantly _my_ roommate. I can't keep something like this from her." She got right into Bridge's face. "She has a right to know if her jackass of a boyfriend is doing something so stupid that he could get himself killed."

"He made me promise not to tell her…."

"He didn't make me." She started down the hall, fully determined to march home and tell Syd.

"Z!" Bridge ran after her and grabbed her by the arm. "Just wait….a minute."

"No, Bridge." She yanked her arm right from him. "This has gone far enough…"

"Shouldn't we at least wait and see if Sky tells her on his own?"

"You really think he'd do that?" she snapped. She might not have known Sky as long as both Bridge and Syd did, but she knew him well enough to know that he kept things to himself for the most part. He hated to admit when he was wrong and had been known in the past to keep things from Syd.

Bridge sighed heavily. "….Maybe what happened taught him a lesson, maybe he won't do it anymore." He gulped in heavily. "And if he does it again. I'll tell Syd myself, okay?" He wasn't sure why, he knew that they should tell Syd, he wanted to tell her, but at the same time he still felt that connection to protect Sky. Years ago it just had been the three of them, the musketeers, as he liked to call them.

Though she didn't want to, she agreed. "Fine," she sighed, knowing the three had a history together, a history she hadn't been a part of, just as she and Jack had a history that they hadn't been a part of. It was the one thing that separated them and perhaps, that had been one of the reasons why they had had so much trouble last year.

* * *

"Hey." Chase opened the door to Sky's room and found him lying on his bed reading a book. "Brought your bike home." He tossed Sky the keys.

"Thanks." Sky set his keys on his nightstand. "How'd the class go?"

"Fine. Bridge enlightened the class with his thinking tactics."

"Great." Sky rolled his eyes. "Just what we need, Bridge wanna-bes." He marked the page in his book. "One Bridge is enough."

"You feeling better?"

"I'm feeling just fine."

"Right." Chase nodded his head and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Though he didn't know the exact details, he was no fool. He knew Sky had gotten hurt in the simulator, but he would never straight out ask him about it, knowing that it would just turn into an argument. Today Sky had gotten his pride hurt, but he had a feeling it would take a lot more than that to get Sky to snap out of whatever he was going through.

He shook his head and went to join Megan on the couch. "So what's on?"

"Nothing much, just watching some old reruns." She seemed distracted, as if she had something else on her mind. She turned to Chase, taking a deep breath. "Don't get mad, okay…"

"Okay…." he answered, not too sure where this was going, until he saw her pull one of his folders from under the couch. "Where'd you get that?"

"…I found it by accident. Your alarm was going off in your room, and I accidentally knocked the folders over. I started picking them up when I noticed that you were trying to figure out what one of them said." She started rambling on. "I know it was wrong and I probably should have just left it alone, but I thought I could help." She pulled out the sheet she had been working on, with two words on it. "I was only able to figure out these two words, all the rest of it was messed up."

Chase looked at her, slowly taking the sheet from her. The two words read, _Rose White. _"Rose White….."

"I think it's a name." She looked into his eyes, trying to see his reaction of whether he was mad at her or not. "Do you know her?"

"No." He licked his lips. "I don't think so, anyway…."

"What do you mean?" she asked him, a little confused. Either he knew her or he didn't.

"It's kind of complicated…."

"I'm a complicated girl." She grinned. "Try me."

Chase thought about it for a moment. "Perhaps another time." He got up and took the folder from her lap. "Thank you for your help though. I really appreciate it." He smiled faintly and gently squeezed her shoulder, before he headed off to his bedroom closing the door behind him.

* * *

Sky lay on his bed reading his book and listening to his music with his headphones, just wanting to block everything else out. He didn't even hear Chase calling his name. His door swung open. "Hey Sky…"

The Red Ranger looked up from his night reading and removed his headphones from his ears. "What is it?"

"Your girl's on the phone." Chase tossed him the phone.

"Thanks," muttered Sky as he caught the phone, giving Chase somewhat of an annoyed look, as though he really wasn't in the mood to talk to Sydney right now. He put the phone up to his ear, getting ready to answer, when he saw Chase still standing in front of his door. He gave him a sort of nod, telling his roommate to leave, so he could have some privacy. Taking the hint, Chase left and let Sky be. "Hey Syd…"

_"Hey sweetie… Did Megan forget to give you my message that I called earlier today?"_

"Ah, no." Sky set his book off to the side. "I just got caught up with work."

_"Oh…. Did your workout session with Chase and the cadets go well?"_

"Yeah. We had a great session today. Lots of improvement."

Outside of Sky's room, Chase had stood by and heard every word that Sky spoke to Syd. He just shook his head disappointedly and walked away.

_"That's great…. I miss you."_

"Me too…" Sky ran his hand through his hair. "Hey, I got to go. I have to get up early tomorrow, but I'll see you tomorrow at the Academy. We can do lunch if you want."

_"Yeah. That sounds great…. I love you."_

"….Okay. I'll see yah, then. Night." He turned off the phone and set it onto his nightstand next to a picture of him and Syd that was taken shortly after they had hooked up, the day after to be exact. Syd had decided to take him out to the beach; the two had spent the whole day there together. He took the picture, staring at it longingly as he recalled how they got to that moment when he had felt his whole world fall apart and she somehow found a way to pick up the pieces.

_"How long has it been since you were last here?" she asked, as she watched him walk around in his childhood bedroom that appeared to have been untouched for years. Everything was so neat and clean, the bed was made, nothing lay on the floor, books were in their place on a self and she noticed a few martial arts trophys on another shelf. _

_"Not since I was fourteen…" Sky cleared his throat, feeling strange to be back in his old childhood room. His old house, a place he had not been in since the day he left for the Academy. No one had stepped foot in his bedroom for a little over six years. Not even Eric or his family had stayed in it, no one had. _

_There were several posters on the wall, of old bands that no longer made any albums, and a few sport ones. You definately could tell that it had been a teenager's room. Syd walked around, until she came to a few photos sitting off to the side. There weren't many, one was of Sky and an older man. "Is this your grandpa?"_

_"Yeah…." He walked up behind her. It had been a long time since he had thought of the man who had practically raised him for seven years._

_"Were you two close?" She turned to face Sky. For as long as she had known him he never really talked a great deal about what his life had been like before he joined the Academy or even how it was those first few years before she had joined and he had been paired with Dru. "I never really heard you talk about him."_

_"We did okay…. It was hard for him after my dad died and then he got sick, having all sorts of heart attacks."_

_"I'm sorry." She gently squeezed his shoulder, looking into his eyes, seeing a very lost and lonely young man. _

_He forced a faint smile. "It's okay. Not your fault, besides I did just fine…" But even as he said it, being in this place, this room, he felt the shield he had built around himself all those years ago slowly break apart, and started to feel very vulnerable in that moment, especially now, after learning everything….. It just became all too much for his strong will to handle._

_"Sky? Are you okay?" asked Syd, fully concerned now, with her big bright blue caring eyes looking back at him, seeing something different about him. She could tell something was very wrong with him, she had noticed it the moment he had shown up at her parents', and now it made it the all the more clear that something definitely was wrong. _

_"Everything's fine….I should get you back to your parents." He started to turn away and head out, but Syd grabbed a hold of his wrist, stopping him. He turned to face her, no longer able to hide the fact that being back here scared the hell out him. _

_"It's okay, Sky, I'm here for you…." Syd wrapped her arms around him, letting him know it was okay to be scared, that it was okay to cry._

_It took several moments until he returned the embrace. Maybe because of a weak moment he put his arms around her, holding her close to him. That lasted for several moments until they slowly pulled away, but just enough so their faces locked on one another, staring at each other, close enough to feel the heat of each other's breath. And before either one of them knew it, they were drawn to each other, as their lips met in a soft gentle kiss. When Sky caught wind of what he was doing, he pulled away. "….I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…."_

"_No. It's okay…"_

_Sky didn't know what to think, just staring into Syd's beautiful shining eyes, he felt a sort of peace come over him. He felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. And that's when he kissed her again, but this time the kiss was full of passion. He ran his hands through her hair, as she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer. "…Oh Sky…."_

_The stone cold young man did something that no one ever thought was possible, he just let loose, letting his emotions go, and everything else was forgotten. He was lost in this moment with Syd that grew deeper and deeper, until they came to a point that they couldn't turn back from. It had been a night full of passion, full of closeness; it had been the turning point when things had changed between him and Syd, when they went beyond their friendship to something so much more…._

The memory faded away, as Sky placed his picture back onto the nightstand. The truth was, those pieces were still broken……


	9. Conflict

Kat was finishing up rebandaging Sky's chest, wanting to make fully sure that his ribs would heal up nicely and not get any further damage. Not a whole lot was said between the two when he came into her lab. He just sat down, took off his shirt and jacket and let her do her job.

"It's looking better, but I'd still like you to take it a little easy," she said in an almost motherly tone. She had known Sky for a number of years and hoped to know him just a little longer.

"We both know, in my line of work taking it easy is not an option," he answered sharply, as he put his shirt and jacket back on. He could die tomorrow for all he knew, and he wasn't about to let a little injury hold him back when it came to duty. He would fight no matter how badly he was hurt or injured. He would still fight even if every bone in his body was broken.

"Maybe that's true." She eyed him firmly. "But you're no good to us dead, Sky," she reminded him, but knew it was futile to get through his thick and stubborn head. Sky never had liked anyone showing concern for him, no matter who they were.

Sky angrily hopped off the table. He had about had it with people hinting that he was going to die and sometime soon; it wasn't like he didn't know his job was dangerous. Already he had put his life in danger countless times, for the sake of duty, being a Ranger, protecting others. It was his job and for the life of him he couldn't understand why no one seemed to get that. He turned to her, his eyes fuming. "Look, I swear to God if one more person makes another comment about me trying to get myself killed, I'm going to explode!"

"I know this job is dangerous, there is no question about that." She had worked with many other Rangers before him, several of whom had long since died, most of them in the line of duty. "But there is a difference between dying with honor and stupidity." She gripped his shoulder, looking him hard in the eye. "Remember that."

He didn't answer, just humphed under his breath and turned away. No one could even begin to understand what he was going through, no one…. "Sky…." He heard her call his name.

"What…" He turned around to face her, almost unwilling.

"Commander Cruger wanted to see you after my appointment with you."

Nothing was said, he just walked out, still not willing to let go of his own pride and accept the fact that people cared if he lived or died. Kat just shook her head, sighing. Sky was one of the most dedicated Rangers, one of the best they had and …one of the most troubled. He still wasn't quite willing to let others in; while he had his father's dedication to being a Ranger, he lacked his father's willingness to allow others in. Wes was always so open, though he could be stubborn; he was more than willing to listen to what others had to say when it concerned him. "You have one tough kid there, Wes…."

Sky promptly walked into the Command Center and saluted Commander Cruger. "Sir! I understand you wanted to see me."

Cruger faced Sky. He was more than just angry with the young lieutenant, he was furious. Never had he seen such recklessness from any of his officers, not even back when Eric Myers had still been in active status. He knew Sky still had much to learn, he might have what it takes to be a Red Ranger, but he still had a thing or two to learn about life. "Yes. I did." He walked up to the young man, who because of his father, he felt some sort of bond with. Not long ago he had promised himself he could no longer protect Sky; his attitude long ago would have terminated his place at the Academy, had anyone else been in charge. Now it was time for him to get on Sky's case. If the young lieutenant wanted to be pushed to the limits, then that's just what the old commander was going to do. "I understand that the regulation standards of the simulator are not enough for you." His voice was harsh and stern. "Is that true, Lt. Tate…."

"Sir. I can do better than what the simulator has to offer," he answered proudly, hoping that finally Cruger would see where he was coming from.

"I see. So you think you're better than your teammates?"

But not a second later that thought was shot down by Cruger's response. Sky realized yet again that Commander Cruger would not approve of him continuing training in the simulator on the highest level. "…No sir." And that was true, he did not think he was better than them. They were a team and each of them was just as important as the others. "I just feel that as leader, I need to be above standards. I must work harder." He stood tall and proud, hoping to get through to his commander, to get him to understand where he was coming from.

"Even if that means going against code?" Cruger's eyes stared down the young Red Ranger's neck. He knew what Sky was trying to do and he wasn't about to be fooled, by Sky's quick and authorized responses, no matter how good they were. "There are standards for the simulation for a reason, Sky, as I told you before the maximum level is too unpredictable. Several cadets in years past have either been killed or badly injured."

"I understand that, sir. But I am _not_ just some cadet….."

If Cruger could open his eyes any wider he would have. "No, you're not just some cadet. You're _my_ cadet." He pointed his finger right at Sky. "You still have to answer to me." Cruger's voice rang; he wasn't liking Sky's tone. "Your foolishness could have gotten yourself and Officer Carson killed. You may be willing to put your own life on the line, but I will not let you do so to one of your teammates."

Sky was burning with anger now, but held it back, knowing it would only make matters worse if he lashed out now. He had learned long ago that when he and Cruger got into one of their confrontations, they tended to clash.

"So from now on instead of training in the simulator, you will be training with me, in sword to sword combat, without your morpher and using your ability." He got right into Sky's face. "We will see if that measures up to your standards. Is that understood?" When Sky made no answer or attempt to look the commander in the eye, he asked again. "Is that understood, Lt. Tate?"

"Yes, sir…." Sky glared into the commander's eyes, his face furious.

"Good. Dismissed!"

"Sir!" Sky, though pissed off by the situation, saluted Commander Cruger, knowing if he didn't he would surely hear about it later.

* * *

"Hey!" exclaimed Syd, all chipper as she sat down next to Sky with his plate of food. She leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, but Sky seemed unaffected by the kiss and didn't even really acknowledge she had joined him. "Sky, is everything okay?" she asked him with a hint of concern. She knew he could be moody sometimes, but even when he was in the past he would always acknowledge her, by either looking at her with a faint smile or saying something, even if it was a light 'hi'.

But he still made no attempt to say anything to her. His thoughts were still on his blowout with Cruger. He was so angry that he barely had touched his food. Why couldn't Cruger just mind his own business? He didn't need the old dog to be keeping tabs on him, he was perfectly capable of handling himself and didn't need anyone babysitting him while he trained. "Sky…" He felt Syd wrap her arm around his shoulders, almost discreetly trying not to draw too much attention, while it was known by most that they were dating, they didn't want it to get all over SPD. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine!" he snapped, taking all his anger out on her. He watched as Syd slowly pulled her arm away, looking at him, hurt by his words and reaction. Realizing what he had done, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "…..I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped like that." He tossed his fork onto his food tray, just staring at it, unable to look her in the eye, knowing that once again he had messed up. He didn't mean to yell or be so unkind towards her. She had just caught him at the wrong time.

"Was it something I did….or said?" she asked, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. It was no secret that Sky Tate was a complicated guy, but there usually was a reason for his bad moods and she wanted to know if she had anything to do with it.

"No…" Sky immediately turned to her, wanting to make it perfectly clear that she had done nothing wrong. "You haven't done anything." He looked into her eyes and smiled faintly. "I'm just having a bad day is all…."

"Are you sure that's all it is?" she asked him.

"Yeah…"

"Well, tomorrow is a new day." She took his hand into her, and gently rubbed her fingers over his palm. "I'm sure everything will be fine by then."

"…..Yeah." _Maybe_. He forced a smile. "I'm sure it will."

She wrapped her arm around his waist, leaning a little closer to him. "Hey, I've got an idea; why don't I cook dinner for you and Megan tonight. Chase has night duty, so it will just be the three of us, we can watch a movie and you can relax…."

"I don't know, Syd….."

"Come on Sky….. Let me do this for you." She grinned, knowing that on a few occasions her smile was capable of brightening up his day. "Even leaders need a break."

"All right," he sighed, as he briefly returned the embrace she had been giving him. "But just try not to burn the kitchen…." He smiled faintly, recalling what had happened the last time Syd had tried to cook the whole team a meal, back when they were still living in the cadet quarters.

She playfully swatted at him. "That only happened once, and in my defense, it was because Bridge forgot to turn off that computer-toaster…..whatever he calls it."

At a table not far from theirs, the other Rangers, Chase, Bridge and Z ate their lunch and had witnessed the whole scene. Though Chase had seen the whole thing go on between Sky and Syd, he acted as though he hadn't and continued to eat his lunch. Besides, he had his mind on other things than becoming involved in Sky and Syd's rollercoaster of a relationship.

Z just shook her head, staring Bridge hard in the eyes, knowing she didn't have to say a word for her young psychic friend to know what was going through her mind. Bridge just sighed heavily, feeling somewhat caught in the middle of everything. While he knew Z was right, that they probably should not intervene, at the same time he had this sort of urge to protect Sky. After all, Sky was his best friend, his former roommate, they shared a bond with each other …almost like brothers. And as a brother his first impulse was to protect him, right or wrong.

He had been trying for months to sense what was going on with Sky, but had been unsuccessful. Which made it all the harder; while he couldn't sense just what was wrong, that didn't mean he didn't know something was wrong with their leader. Bridge turned his head and watched as Sky and Syd chatted, he watched as Syd's face would lighten up every time she looked Sky in the eyes. He had known for a while even before the two had gotten together, that Syd had developed feelings for Sky, though she never had acted upon them.

_"Lt. Tate, please report to the Command Center….."_

They watched as Sky quickly gave Syd a brief kiss on the cheek, before getting up from the table and leaving the mess hall. With Sky's departure Syd decided to join the others and finish off her lunch.

"Hey guys," she exclaimed all cheerfully.

"You sure seem happy," said Z.

"Well of course I am; I'm going to be spending time with my boyfriend tonight. Why wouldn't I be happy?"

"That's great, Syd!" announced Bridge. "Isn't it, Z?"

"Yeah." She gave Bridge a stern look before turning to Syd with a bright smile. "That's great, Syd."

"Yeah. I know. I'm going to be cooking him dinner. Oh…." She turned to Chase. "I'll save you some leftovers."

"Thanks." Chase smiled as he finished up his lunch. "But I'll probably just eat something here."

Bridge was finishing up his plate when his beeper went off. He took it off his belt and read the name SOPHIE. "Is that your girlfriend?" Z grinned as she leered closer to Bridge.

"I don't know? You see, we haven't actually defined our relationship, because she's a cyborg." Bridge started expressing with his hands. "And I don't know exactly how my parents would take me dating a …..well, a machine, cause they already told me they want grandkids… And I don't know how that would work."

"A simple yes or no would have been just fine," said Z.

"This is Bridge, he doesn't give yes or no answers," stated Syd as she leaned closer to Z.

Chase just shook his head, grinning; he patted Bridge on the shoulder. "I'm sure it will all work out for you." He picked up his tray. "I'll see you guys later in weapons training."

"So what do you guys think I should do?"

* * *

"Again!" barked Cruger, as he stood back a few feet from Sky who was lying on the ground with a sword at his side. Just moments ago he had knocked the red leader to the ground. If Sky wanted a hard workout, he was going to give it to him and show no amount of mercy. "….Lt. Tate, this is not too much for you, is it? Shall I go easier on you?"

"No sir!" Sky reached for his sword and jumped to his feet. He wasn't about to let Cruger's taunts get to him. "I'm ready!" He locked his eyes with Cruger as he made the first attack, but Cruger, being highly trained and skilled in sword combat, easily blocked the move and went in with a counterattack that Sky was barely able to block.

The two continued to spar for sometime outside of the SPD base, neither one willing to back down, no matter how many times Sky crashed to the ground. Sky was too stubborn to stop and admit defeat and Cruger wasn't going to be the first to give in. He was a good fighter and knew how to make attacking blows without seriously injuring his opponent; he could go at this all day if he wanted to, which was more than Sky could do, no matter how pig-headed he was.

Sky took deep breaths, his body was exhausted and his chest hurt immensely, his ribs might not be broken, but they were bruised and he could feel the bandaging that had been around them slowly coming off. He watched as Cruger circled around him, swinging his sword and making fancy quick motions, as he lay there with one hand on the ground and the other reaching for his sword. He knew very well what Cruger was trying to do and he wasn't about to be taught a lesson, he wasn't a kid anymore; he was an adult, a grown man. He screamed loudly as he jumped to his feet with his fingers gripped tightly around the sword, as he recklessly attacked Cruger. In his blind rage he failed to see Cruger's quick motion as he sent the determined Ranger over his shoulder, flipping in midair before he crashed to the ground head first.

The old dog turned around and put his sword to his side, watching as Sky spit a mouthful of grass out of his mouth. Sky rolled over and found his commander staring down at him. He started reaching for his sword, but Cruger stepped his foot over the weapon. "We are done for today." He reached out his hand to help Sky up, who at first refused the assistance, but eventually gave in. Cruger looked Sky in the eyes, hoping to see that stubborn and hothead attitude of his diminished, but to his disappointment it still remained. It was going to take a lot more to break Sky of his old habits.

"Before you go to weapons sessions with the other Rangers, you should go see Kat and have her fix your bandages. Is that understood?"

"…Yes sir," announced Sky, not all too happy. He saluted Cruger before making his way back into the building, doing his best to hide the fact that his body ached all over.

Cruger sighed heavily as he picked up Sky's sword from the ground. He turned and watched as Sky entered back into the building. He didn't like that he had to be so hard on Sky, but he was left with no choice. If he continued to let Sky go on the path he was on, he could lose him and he had already lost one too many Rangers during his career.

* * *

Sky entered into the shooting range to find his teammates already at practice shooting their targets. His late entrance caused a delay in their training as they turned around to face him. He appeared to be out of breath and his face looked flushed, like he had been in a recent battle of some sorts.

"Was there a battle?" asked Chase.

"No." Sky reached for his blaster, getting it loaded and ready to shoot a few rounds. 'Where would you get that idea?"

"Well for one, you're late…" Z fluttered her eyes at him, she wasn't about to let Sky get by without getting a good explanation. "And two, your face looks a bit red, like you have been fighting…"

Sky eyed his teammates and their questioning looks, Syd's and Bridge's seemed more out of concern, while Chase's was more curiosity, since he normally was never late for any of the sessions or for anything. And then there was Z, who seemed to be putting him on trial with her quick and direct accusations.

"I was late because I was meeting with Commander Cruger."

"About what?" Z pondered, knowing there had to be more to it.

"It doesn't concern you," answered Sky with a strong tone, as he looked her directly in the eyes.

"Why?" Z got right into his face. "Do you have something to hide, Sky?"

"Z…." hissed Bridge, sensing that things could get ugly and that this wasn't the time or the place for that to happen.

"No….There are certain things that go on between Cruger and me, that the team does not have to be involved with." He put on his safety goggles and leaned closer to Z, almost breathing down her neck. "Now get back to your training, you've wasted enough time with your pointless questions."

"Yes sir," snarled Z.

"What was all that about?" asked Syd, walking up behind Z, wanting to know why her friend was giving her boyfriend the cold shoulder.

"You'll have to ask your _boyfriend_…" With that said, Z went back to her post and began shooting her targets.

* * *

"Doggie!" exclaimed Kat, as she marched into the command center to find Cruger with his wife Isinia going over the daily reports. "I just got done seeing Sky. What the hell were you thinking?" she demanded. Not only had she needed to rebandage him, she had had to tend to some bruising and cuts.

Cruger had been expecting Kat to show up. He knew she would not agree with his tactics at trying to get through to Sky. "It was just a lesson, Kat…."

"A lesson that could have gotten him killed," she responded. "Is this your alternative to his wanting to train in the simulator on the max level?"

"It is no more different than the training I went through back in my early days at the Academy."

Kat took a step forward. "Sky is _human_. His body cannot withstand the same things yours can, even with his ability."

"I am aware of that, Dr. Manx, but I know what I'm doing and believe this is the only way to get through to him. I can assure you no real harm will come to him during any of the lessons we have in the future." He eyed her. "Is there anything else, or is that all?"

"No. That's it," said Kat as she left the command center, leaving the two once again alone. She knew it was useless to argue with Cruger, if anything he was just as bad as Sky, if not worse.

"Don't even say it," he grumbled, knowing that his wife would have a thing or two to say about how he was dealing with Sky.

"But you know I am going to." She turned to face him. "I know Sky is difficult to deal with, but it wasn't so long ago someone else in this room was the same way…."

* * *

"I wish you didn't have to go so soon," exclaimed Hayley as she hugged Lilly goodbye. The two stood outside in the driveway by Lilly's car.

"I know, but I'll be back in a few weeks. Once I get everything settled back at home, letting the kids know what going to happen." She had decided this would be the perfect place to move her children to. She would have close friends here and she really liked the setup for the Reefside schools, not to mention one of her oldest friends was the teacher at the high school. Her son and daughter were only thirteen and ten, but it wouldn't be long until they were in high school. And then there was Drake, who had made it clear that for now all he wanted was a friendship. The feeling was mutual, but who knows what the future will hold?

"I know." Hayley smiled. "It was just really good to be able to spend some time with you and talk. It's been so long…."

"I know…" There was something in both of their eyes of unspoken words, something that neither one needed the other to say, to know what the other was thinking. "You never told him, did you?"

Hayley shook her head. "No. Nobody knows…..only those who knew before."

"I know it was hard for you, but keeping this from him-from everyone..."

"It hasn't been easy, especially now with everything he's going through." Hayley sighed heavily, for she held a deep dark secret that no one knew about, not even one of her closest friends. "…..I can't help but feel a little guilty."

Lilly wrapped her arms around her friend, letting her know she was there for her. "Don't. You did what you had to do back then." She pulled away and looked her friend in the eyes. "It was the right thing to do."

"You think I should tell him, don't you?"

"I think he has a right to know …both of them do."

"I know." Hayley smiled faintly. "It won't be easy, but it is time…."

"Call me and tell me how it all goes."

"Of course."

**Later that night….**

Hayley sat on her and Eric's bed, staring at the small photo that had haunted her for years. Tears almost fell from her eyes; it seemed so unreal that so much time had passed since she last had looked at the picture.

"You okay?"

Hayley looked up and watched as Eric walked into their bedroom, his face full of concern. She quickly dried her tears away and took a deep breath, as a grave amount of fear and even guilt came over her. Not knowing what to expect, what would come out of this or how he would react. They had always been honest with each other, but she had been keeping a secret from him for years. A secret she never thought she would ever have to reveal, a secret that could change everything.

"Hayls..." Eric was even more concerned now. He had never seen Hayley like this, not for as long as they had been married, had she ever acted in this way. "What's wrong?" He sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her.

She leaned against him, thankful for the strength of his strong arms, but unsure how long that would last, once she told him. "I need to tell you something…." She slowly handed the small picture to him, that she had been looking at.

Slightly hesitant, not liking the soft tone in her voice, Eric took the photo and stared at it for a few moments. It was of her, holding a baby, not something he would expect her to be so upset over. He turned to her, needing to know why this had upset her. "You wanted to show me a picture of you and Wesley?" But even as he said it, just as if the light finally had gone on in his eyes, he knew…


	10. Secrets

"That little boy isn't Wesley…." He searched her eyes. "Is it?" And the more he looked at the photo, the more he could see very clearly that it wasn't his son and that Hayley was much younger in this picture than she was when little Wes was born. He turned to her, barely able to find the words. "You had another son."

"I did." Hayley bowed her head down; the memory of that day was still very clear in her mind. She remembered what it felt like to hold the brand new life in her arms, his face, his eyes, the sound of his breathing. And then the hard part ….what it felt like when she had to let him go, knowing that she would probably never see him again. "I was still in college, still too young to raise a baby, so I knew I had to give him up." She sighed heavily as she took the picture back from Eric. It was the only thing besides the painful memories that she had left of him. "That was over twenty years ago." He had been born June 10th 1999, but she had only known she was pregnant for the last six months. The first three she had been unaware - she had been feeling sick but thought nothing of it until one of her roommates suggested she take a home pregnancy test. And sure enough she was pregnant.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" He couldn't begin to understand why she would have kept something like this from him. It wasn't like he would have held it against her, after all that was years ago, a time when he had not been part of her life. But this was something he should have known, wasn't it? He had told her everything about his life, his hard upbringing ….and up until now he had thought he had known everything about her. Now, he wasn't so sure. Could there be more secrets that she was keeping from him?

"I didn't mean to, it was just. …It took me a long time to get over giving him up and I guess I thought if I brought it up, that it would start to hurt all over again." Hayley took his hand, squeezing it gently. "For what it's worth, not a lot of people know, only my parents and a couple of friends from college."

He wanted to be angry with her for keeping something as big as this from him, but at the same time, he could understand. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it must have been like for her to have to give up her child. Something she had carried for nine months, and then just have to say goodbye a moment later, never knowing what would happen to that child. It seemed unimaginable for him to think of giving up his own children and never knowing what would happen to them. Eric wrapped his arms around her, as he kissed her gently on the cheek. "It's okay, what's important is that you told me now, that's all that matters."

"Thank you for being so understanding," she cried as she returned his embrace.

But an even greater awareness came over Eric, that if he didn't know about the baby Hayley had given up, that there could be someone else who didn't know either, someone who had more of a right to know the truth than he did. "He doesn't know, does he?"

Hayley lowered her eyes, shaking her head, and felt an overwhelming guilt come over her. After all these years, she had never told him, even when she had so many chances to tell him, she never did. "How'd you know it was him?"

"You had said you two had been close in college." Eric bit his lip. Now it made a lot of sense; back when he and Hayley had been dating and even now, she rarely would ever talk about that relationship. "Tommy was the father." Not to mention the fact that it took a long time before Hayley's mother accepted the fact that Tommy was both Erin and Wes's godfather. She had always seemed a little cold towards Tommy and now Eric understood why.

"Yes, he was."

"You have to tell him, Hayley. He has a right to know, even after all these years he should know." Since Tommy didn't know, all Eric could assume was that Hayley had found out sometime after Tommy had left the college the two had attended for less than two years, before Tommy had left to join Mercer and get other schooling.

"I know." She took a deep long breath. "I just don't know how I'm going to begin to tell him, especially after what's happened between him and Kim, losing the baby."

"Yeah…." Eric nodded his head as he gently rubbed Hayley's back. He knew it would be difficult both for Hayley having to tell him after all these years and for Tommy, needing to hear it. He couldn't even begin to imagine if one of his old girlfriends showed up one day and told him after all these years he had fathered a child with her.

* * *

_"Ah, Anubis, glad I caught you. I know it is late on Earth…."_ Supreme Commander Fowler Birdie announced, as he popped up on the screen. There was a good twelve hours difference between the two planets.

"It is never too late to hear from you, sir." exclaimed Cruger as he moved away from his post and up to the communication screen. "How are things?"

_"Things are going well; we have made great progress. How goes it on Earth? I heard that you have Lt. Chase Ryder, from the Mirinoi base, serving there now."_

"Yes. He's our new blue Ranger."

_"How is he doing? I've read over his files, terrible tragedy."_

"He's doing better. He fitting in quite well here and the younger cadets seem to enjoy him." Cruger recalled hearing some of the younger cadets talking about Chase and how they enjoyed his teaching techniques and how helpful he was towards them.

_"That is good to hear. And how is our red Ranger, Schuyler Tate, doing?"_

Cruger was a little hesitant, wanting to choose his words carefully. "He's making progress, he still has quite a lot to learn, before he is as good as his father."

_"Well…if anyone can show him the way, you'd be the one. Wesley Collins was a remarkable Ranger; when his son is ready he will make a fine addition."_

"Addition?" Cruger was a little confused by the comment. "Sir, Sky Tate is already a proud member of SPD…."

_"Yes. I know…. Perhaps I should be a little clearer." _Birdie took a moment to gather his words. This was going to be some big news for Cruger and for him. _"I'm not as young as I used to be. I've been head of SPD for a long time. I've seen many battles and fought in many of them myself."_

"Sir, I don't understand where this is going…."

_"I'm going to be retiring in five years, Anubis, and I can't think of anyone else that I would trust more than you to take my place as head of SPD."_

Cruger was shocked to say the least. This was the last thing he would ever expect to hear from Supreme Commander Fowler Birdie; for as long as the two had known each other they had never really seen eye to eye and had mostly been at odds. "I…I don't know what to say, sir…"

_"You weren't expecting this?"_ It was no secret to Birdie that he and Doggie hadn't always gotten along. A lot of that had been his fault; after the destruction and devastation of Sirius he had sent Cruger to Earth as a sort of punishment, never believing that the Earth base would amount to anything. _He had been wrong…. DEAD WRONG._ _"I know we have not always seen eye to eye on things and that I have been hard on you all these years, but you have done well on Earth. You have made fine Rangers and you are a fine commander…"_

"I am honored, sir. But I will have to discuss this with my wife and see how she feels about relocating." After all, they hadn't even been back together a year and she was still getting accustomed to Earth. He wasn't sure how she would feel about leaving Earth and going to the main base of all SPD.

_"Of course there is no rush, take all the time you need."_

"….And Sky, you would want him to replace me?"

_"I will leave that up to you, it will be your decision as to who will replace you. But it is common in SPD, that when a head Commander steps down that the current A Squad Ranger, that their place…"_

"Yes… Well, I have a lot to think about. Was there anything else, sir?"

_"No that was it. Unless you have anything you need to discuss?"_

"No. I have nothing more to report, sir."

_"Well then, I will let you go. Be sure to give Isinia my best."_

"I will do so, sir." Cruger watched as the connection ended and the screen went blank. Sensing he was not alone, he slowly turned around. "How much of it did you hear?"

"Enough to know that you have two big decisions to make," answered Chase. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but being on night duty you tend to hear things that you're not supposed to.

"Yes, I do." Cruger nodded his head. It was a great opportunity for him, he knew he could do well by being head of SPD, but at the same time he wasn't too keen on leaving Sky in charge, at least not in the state he was in now. "Could you be honest with me, Lt. Ryder?"

"Of course, sir."

"Do you think that if I promoted Sky to the Commander of the Earth base, that he would handle it well?"

"Honestly sir, right now I don't think so. I will admit Sky is a great red Ranger and leader, but being head of a base is a lot of pressure and stress. I don't know if he could handle it."

"And could you?"

Chase smiled faintly. "Truthfully sir, I would have to turn down the position. I am happy being just a plain old blue Ranger." He didn't wish to be in a position where he would have to take on so much responsibility, not again….

"And I will respect your decision. Thank you for your honesty."

"Any time, sir," answered Chase. "You heading home?"

"Yes. I have much to discuss with my wife." Cruger gripped Chase's shoulder. "Goodnight, Lt. Ryder."

"Goodnight, sir." Chase saluted Commander Cruger as he watched his Commander exit the command center.

He then headed over to the computer and pulled out a sheet of paper, the paper that Megan had worked on for him with the name Rose White, and something he had not noticed until now were the letters MA under her name. Chase typed the name into a people search database, along with the two letters which he assumed was the state of Massachusetts. "Okay Rose, let's see if we can find you…' He pressed enter and about four results came up. He began clicking on each of them, two of which were deceased and two who were still living. Sighing heavily, he jotted down all four addresses, having no idea as to which Rose White he was looking for. All he knew for sure was he had to meet her, but California and Massachusetts were a long way from each other… ….And something that alarmed him even more was that the Rose White he was looking for could be one of the two who had already passed. All he could hope was that he wasn't too late.

**Several hours later….**

Sky was fast asleep on the couch with his arm wrapped around Syd who was sleeping soundly against his chest. The night had turned out to be a pleasant one, which surprised both of them; lately most of their nights would start in some sort of argument, but tonight there had been none - none except Sky's outburst early in the day, which had already been forgiven and forgotten.

Megan was asleep as well in the lounge chair by the time Chase returned home from being on night duty. He silently closed the door behind him, not wanting to wake the three up. Noticing that the TV was still on he walked over and shut it off. He was about to head to his room, to get some sleep...

"What time is it?" asked Sky as he stirred awake, but keeping his voice down so he didn't disturb Syd or Megan from their sleep. They had all fallen asleep after watching a movie, but were all too tired and comfortable where they were to get up and head off to bed.

"Almost three…"

"How was your shift? Anything I should know about happen?"

Though something had happened that Sky should know about, now wasn't the time to tell him, not to mention the fact that he should not be the one to tell him. No, that would be left up to Cruger to deal with, as far as he was concerned the conversation he had overheard between Birdie and Cruger was none of his business. "It was fine. You guys have a nice evening?"

"Yeah." Sky yawned. "We saved you some pasta and chicken, it's in the fridge."

"Thanks." Chase smiled. "Go back to sleep…." He watched as Sky nodded his head and slowly closed his eyes as he drifted off to sleep. Chase made his way over to Megan, who didn't appear to be sleeping very comfortably, at least to him. He gently scooped her up in his arms and carried her to her bedroom and put her in her bed, pulling the covers over her. He stayed there for a few moments watching her sleep; she wasn't so bad when she was sleeping. She didn't look like that cocky smartass kid who seemed to know which buttons to push to get on everyone's nerves. "Night, kid."

* * *

Tommy sat in the living room with both Hayley and Eric. Hayley had called him in the morning saying she _needed_ to talk to him about something important. The kids were out back, playing with the dog, so that they wouldn't disrupt the three as they talked to each other about something Eric had told them was adult-talk, and for now it didn't concern them. Right away Tommy could tell that whatever Hayley needed to tell him was bothering her greatly. He had never seen her like this for as long as he had known her. And something told him that what brought this about had something to do with Lilly's visit.

Eric wrapped his arm around Hayley, giving her the encouragement she needed to say what needed to be said. Hayley took a deep breath, as she looked Tommy in the eyes. "Tommy… There's something you should know. ….Something I should have told you a long time ago."

"Okay…." Tommy answered softly, watching as she pulled out something from her jacket pocket, a photo. He watched as she unsteadily handed him the photo, her eyes near tears, nearly trembling, as if she were afraid of him. "Hayley, whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be okay….." he said as he took the photo from her. Nothing was said as he stared at the photo of Hayley holding a small baby boy in her arms, a Hayley who was twenty years younger. He looked up to meet her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Tommy…. I know, I…."

"Whatever happened to him?" His voice didn't sound angry, it just sounded sincere, like he just really wanted to know what had happened to the child he had fathered so many years ago.

"I gave him up for adoption. I don't know to whom." She bowed her head down. "I didn't want to know." At the time she had just wanted a clean break, feeling that the less she knew the better, that maybe somehow that would make things easier. She looked up to meet his dark brown eyes, fearing the worst. "Please don't be angry…."

Tommy got up from his spot on the couch and went onto the couch where Hayley and Eric were sitting, taking the empty spot next to his old college girlfriend. He put his arm around her and smiled faintly. "I could never be angry with you, Hayley. Not after everything we've been through, all these years." He handed her the photo back. "Thank you for telling me."

Hayley didn't know what to say. She was just relieved finally after all these years to have that weight taken off her shoulders; she wrapped her arms around Tommy, just grateful that he was taking it all so well and didn't hate her for it. Eric sat back, watching the two, knowing they needed this moment, but something lurked in the back of his mind.

Tommy watched Eric's gaze on him, just knowing……

**An hour later**

Eric had found it odd that Tommy had taken the news rather well. Too well. It's not every day that the girl you had dated back in college tells you that she was pregnant and had given the baby boy up for adoption a little more than twenty years ago. Even he was having trouble grasping the fact that Hayley had a son she had never told him about. He had known Tommy and Hayley had been _close…._but he had never imagined something like this.

He stepped up to Tommy's door and knocked a few times. Not a second later the door opened and Eric and Tommy were face to face, but something was different this time. This time, Eric knew more about the relationship Hayley had once had with Tommy, more than he wanted to know. But he couldn't let that get between them. Hayley and Tommy had known each other for years, the kids loved him to death. …..And he and Tommy had built the kind of friendship he and Wes once had.

"I was wondering how long it would be before you'd show up." Tommy announced, breaking the silence between them. He was expecting Eric to show up not too long after he left their home.

"Yeah." Eric sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "How are you holding up?" It seemed like the only thing you could say in a situation like this. It's not like you can say, 'Wow, congratulations, you're a dad'.

Tommy bit his lip, and a heavy sigh came over him. "You want to come in?"

Now the fear and awkwardness, that wasn't there before, but should have been, was there. Eric watched as Tommy stepped aside to let him in, as if he needed him to come in.

Once inside, Eric watched as Tommy paced around in the kitchen, just barely making eye contact. And not until that exact moment did it occur to Eric that maybe the reason Tommy had taken the news so well was because he had already known. "You knew, didn't you? You knew she had been pregnant?"

The pacing stopped and Tommy slumped down onto one of his kitchen chairs, leaning his arms against the table, watching as Eric sat down across from him. He licked his lips, crossed his hands. A past he hadn't wanted to open was starting to come unlocked. "Yes. I knew…." Even though it had been so long ago he had remembered every detail…. "It was a few days before I had seen the report on the news about Anton Mercer. I had found a pregnancy test in her dorm bathroom…. I never told her."

_"Hey, honey." Tommy smiled as he kissed Hayley lightly on the lips as she greeted him at the door. Hayley wrapped her arms tightly around Tommy, deepening the kiss even more, not seeming to notice the other occupants of the room._

_"If you two are going to do that, the least you can do is get a room," exclaimed Lilly, as she came walking in from her bedroom. _

_The two pulled away, grinning and laughing, barely able to keep their hands off of each other. "Hello to you too, Lil," said Tommy. _

_"You know how it is, Tommy." She grabbed her coat. "Now are you two ready? I talked to Josh; we're meeting him at seven."_

_"Yeah. I just need to use the bathroom for a moment." He gave Hayley a quick kiss on the cheek, before heading to the bathroom._

_He had finished washing his hands when he grabbed a paper towel to try them off. He tossed the towel to the trashcan, but missed. Sighing, he bent down to pick up the towel to toss it away, when he noticed something in the trash. Something that made his heart skip a beat. Taking the towel he picked up the object, it was a pregnancy test. And it was positive….._

_"Tommy, you okay in there?" He heard Hayley call his name._

_"I….I'm fine." He tossed the test back into the trash. I'm coming!"_

He ran his hand over his face, knowing that Eric probably wouldn't like the next part of the story. But it needed to be said… "Once I knew, I knew that changed things. It was no longer going to be just _us…_ Our anniversary was coming up, so I bought a ring….."

"You were going to propose…" His voice wasn't harsh, though part of him knew he should be angry. He couldn't be; that had been over twenty years ago and given the situation….

"Yeah. I was…."

"But then you saw the report on TV."

Tommy nodded his head. There had once been a time when he wondered if he had made the right decision, but most days he tried not to think about it. A part of him still felt guilty about what he had done, a part of him had never forgiven himself. "I got scared. I _knew_ this was big, something had to be done. And that I could end up making enemies or running into old ones. I couldn't have that happen, not with Hayley and a helpless baby on the way. I couldn't do that."

"So you left," stated Eric flatly; he could feel himself as he clenched his fists. Now he wanted to be angry, he wanted to beat the living daylights out of Tommy, but for the life of him he couldn't bring himself to do that. Tommy had been through so much over the past twenty years, the dino gems, Mercer, Mesagog and then the thing with Kimberly. "I guess I understand why. Being a Ranger, you do tend to make a lot of enemies…." He had learned that all too well, Wes had been the result of one such case. "But…."

"I didn't want to leave."

"So after the project with Mercer blew over, you weren't just calling her for help, were you?"

"No…" Tommy shook his head. The truth was he hadn't wanted to drag her into it, but as things would have it, that's how it worked out. "I wanted to see her, catch up on old times. When it became clear that there was no baby, I knew she must have put him up for adoption or maybe the test had been wrong or it belonged to one of her roommates. So then I told her what I had been up to and about my past as a Ranger." Tommy sighed heavily. He remembered that day well, so well he could still feel the guilt that had hung over him. "She never said anything and I never asked."

"Are you going to tell her that you knew?"

"I…I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know!" exclaimed Eric. "You have to tell her!"

"Tell her what? That for the past twenty years I believed that either she or one of her roommates had gotten pregnant?"

Now he couldn't hold any of his anger back. He had held in for as along as he could through this entire ordeal, but it was just too much for him to deal with. "You bought her a damn engagement ring. You had to have known it was hers!"

"I bought her a ring because I was in love with her and I wanted to do the right thing!" Tommy shouted back and the moment he did, he wished he could take it back. "….Oh shit," he cursed under his breath.

"In love?" Eric had understood that what had gone on between the two was that both of them had been lonely, that it hadn't been out of love. "Are you still in love with her?"

Tommy didn't answer right away, because the question scared him more than anything in all his life. Was he still in love with Hayley? Had he been in love with her back then? He wanted to deny it. He wanted to say that it wasn't true, but…..

"I think I have my answer…" Eric just coldly glared at Tommy, before he started to storm out.

"Eric, wait!" Tommy ran after him, pulling him by the shoulder, forcing him to turn around and face him. "Whatever Hayley and I had ended the moment I left. Yes, a part of me will always love her and wish that things could have been different between us. But she chose you and had three beautiful children with you. She's in love with you, not me. Don't ever forget that…."

Eric took a deep breath to calm himself down. Maybe he had overreacted or maybe he was just acting naturally and needed to be reminded that he had been the one who married Hayley, and that Tommy was part of her past. He watched as Tommy put out his hand, staring him in the eyes. "Friends?"

"….Always." replied Eric as he tightly gripped Tommy's hand. He couldn't let something like this, no matter how big it was, destroy the bond they had created over the years. There weren't too many people in the world who would put up with him, most people always seemed to be somewhat intimated by him. "And I'm…."

"Don't be. You reacted exactly how you should have." A grin came over his face. "Although I was expecting you to sock me at least once."

"That can still be arranged….." grinned Eric, as he faked punching Tommy.

* * *

…**About a week later.**

"Okay everyone, move in nice and easy!" Sky announced as he signaled the other Rangers into what was supposed to be an abandoned warehouse. Just an hour ago they had gotten a call from Cruger asking them to check it out, saying that some alien criminals might be hiding out there. This had been the first big call they had had in months, other than the small local type stuff.

The five walked in slowly, staying alert, keeping their eyes focused and blasters ready. The place appeared to be empty, other than a few boxes and gas tanks. It didn't look like anybody was here. Sky took the lead, taking a few steps forwards, looking in every direction, wanting to make perfectly sure that the perimeter was clear before he called off the search.

"Do you see anything?" asked Z as she walked alongside Syd, as she looked from left to right, but spotted nothing out of the ordinary. Everything looked just how it should.

"No." Syd looked.

"Bridge…'

"Already on it!" answered Bridge, as he took the glove off his hand and waved it in front of him, where Sky was walking a few feet up ahead. But what Bridge saw was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Something or someone was walking right behind Sky. "Sky…. There's….."

"What?" Sky turned around, but only to have some force push him back against the wall.

"What the…." Chase's eyes widened, something had invisibly shoved Sky up against the wall. "Bridge, what the hell did you see?"

"I….I don't know? It was like some purplely creature."

"Sky, are you all right?" Syd started running towards Sky, who was lying on the ground holding his right shoulder, but only to be thrown back by some unknown force.

"Syd!" shouted Z, watching as her friend went flying back.

"Bridge!" shouted Chase. He needed to know what the hell they were dealing with and Bridge was the only one who had the ability to see what they were up against.

Once again Bridge waved his hand, but this time instead of just seeing one he saw a whole lot more. "Oh boy. This is not good…."

"What?"

"We're surrounded. I don't know what they are or how they are staying invisible, but I know they aren't friendly."

"I think we already determined that, Bridge," announced Sky as he helped Syd up and the team grouped together, as Bridge continued to wave his hand in front of him, only able to reveal the hidden creatures for a few short moments. They were surrounded at all sides.

"How can we fight something we can't see?" exclaimed Z.

* * *

Back at the command center both Cruger and Kat watched on the screen, helpless to do anything. Kat typed urgently at her computer, trying to see if she could get a scan of the location.

"Are you able to pick up on anything?" exclaimed Cruger, his voice was urgent and full of concern.

"I'm trying!" Kat could feel her heart racing, knowing that the team was in danger if they didn't figure out what exactly they were dealing with. "There, the scan is picking up on their location." She looked up at the screen, to see what the results had come up with; they could see the figures, but the scan had also showed details of what they were made out of. "From what I can gather, whatever they are dealing with isn't human or alien…"

"If it's not human or alien then what could it be?"

"I don't know…." Kat turned to Cruger. "The only thing I can explain, that it's very similar to Z's ability…." And before anything else could be said the communication link between the Rangers and the command center went blank….

Cruger's eyes widened with fear as his heart skipped a beat. "Rangers….. Rangers, come in," he repeated into the communication link. "Sky, do you read me. Report!" But no answer came; it was as if some source was blocking their communication.


	11. The Honeymoons Over

"What the hell happened?" roared Cruger.

Kat frantically worked at the computer trying to reestablish a connection, but wasn't having much luck. "I don't know. Everything appears fine." It just wasn't making any sense. Everything should be working fine as far as she knew, none of the computer reports showed any errors of any kind, none that would cause this type of problem. She turned to Cruger, her face unsure. "I don't know what the problem is!"

"Something has to be causing it…." Cruger moved closer to the blank screen, hoping to pick up some image even if it was just a glimpse, but nothing ever came. He again tried to communicate with Sky. "Lt. Tate, come in. Report…." But still no answer came. He and Sky were at odds, but that wouldn't prevent from Sky from reporting to him, letting him know what the situation was.

"Sir, should we send in one of the squads?'

"No…" Cruger's eyes grew weary, fearing that would be a very bad idea. "Not until we know what we're dealing with." He didn't want to risk the lives of anyone else, not before he knew just what or who they were dealing with. He would not send in another squad blindly. He turned to Kat, giving her very direct orders. "I want you and Boom to process the last scan you received, see what attacked the Rangers. I will continue to try to communicate with the Rangers."

"Yes. Sir." Kat took the disk from the last scan she had received of the unidentified creatures that had attacked the Rangers; further testing with their more high-tech scanning system might be able to give them more detailed information of what this new threat was, or even more, tell them why they had lost communication with the Rangers. "Boom, I need you to meet me in my lab…." Kat announced into her communication device that hung over her ear, as she exited the command center and headed straight for her lab.

"_Okay. I'll be right there…."_

"Hurry Boom, the lives of the Rangers may depend upon it."

"_The Rangers…. I'll be right there…."_

Cruger's face grew grimmer as he stared at the blank screen once more. He knew he should turn away, but he just couldn't bring himself to do so, at the time it seemed like the only thing he could do was just stare and hope. Though he knew the Rangers were the best he had ever had in all his years, that didn't stop him from recalling that even the best of the best can fall. A feeling he was all but too familiar with. He was not prepared to lose another Ranger team, not while under his watch. His heart continued to race as he stared at the blank screen, hoping to see something, anything. Anything to tell them that they were okay, that they were still alive. But nothing ever came… "Be strong, my Rangers…."

* * *

The Rangers huddled together, feeling as hands that couldn't be seen reached out to them, trying to grab at them, separate them from each other and break the only advantage they had: each other. Z was right, how could they fight what couldn't be seen? And even though Bridge could make it so they could have some idea of where these intruders were, that couldn't work as a lasting effect.

"I can't get a hold of the base….." exclaimed Z, who for the last minute and a half had been trying to contact Cruger or anyone who was listening back at the base. "All I get is static." It didn't make any sense to her; it had been working fine not too long ago, but even since these things started causing trouble the connection between them and the base had gone dead.

"Something must be blocking our communication," announced Chase, knowing that was the only logical explanation. He was willing to bet that these creatures or whatever sent them here was responsible. Though he couldn't see the creatures, he could sense them, almost feel them, a skill he had learned while growing up on his home planet. He could hear the screeching and hissing sounds they made, his heart raced with fear, as this all took on an all too familiar cast. Something he wished to forget…..

"Sky, what are we going to do?" asked Syd, as she hung close to his shoulder. She too, like the others, could hear the sounds the creatures made; the sounds seemed to echo throughout the whole warehouse, making it seem even more frightening, especially when they couldn't see what was making those sounds.

Sky didn't answer her, and he knew the rest of the team was wondering the same exact thing, himself included. His face was unsure. And this wasn't the time or the place for him to freeze up and be unsure of what to do in this kind of situation. He was red Ranger, red leader. It was his job to make quick decisions right on the spot, without question. This was what he had trained for all his life, so that when he got here he would know what to do and not have to think about it. But training and actually doing were two entirely different things. Z's very words kept playing over and over in his mind, _how can we fight what can't be seen?_ He could feel his heart pounding against his chest; he had to come up with something this second, because he knew any second from now these things would attack them without warning and there wouldn't be a damn thing they would be able to do to stop it. He looked up and noticed the sprinkling system. _I wonder….._he thought. "Anybody have any objections to a little water?" he asked as he raised his blaster up.

Bridge followed his gaze, looking up, and saw what Sky was talking about. "It might just work…."

"Good…" Sky narrowed his eyes onto the target. "Because it's the only solution that I can come up with at the moment."

"Oh, I so shouldn't have gotten my perm today…." Syd exclaimed, knowing that this would not do wonders for her hair.

"Sorry, Syd…." Sky pulled the trigger and the sprinklers poured down the water, soaking everything in sight, but on the upside it did do what Sky intended it to do. What couldn't be seen before could be seen now, though it looked like light purple ghostly-like creatures, but still a step up from seeing nothing at all.

"Why, hello," grinned Z as she got into a fighting stance, quite content with herself that she finally had a chance to see their attackers. "Nice to finally see you face to face…"

"They don't seem too happy that they're no longer invisible to us," noted Bridge, seeing how violent their behavior had gotten, seeing the glow in their eyes and the lashing out. Already he could sense that these creatures would put up one hell of a fight.

"Well then, we better give them a big welcome," answered Chase, giving a wide cocky grin as he got into a fighting stance, ready for action. "Ready when you are, Sky."

"Let's bring it to them!" Sky exclaimed as he led his team into battle, against the mysterious unknown creatures. "But be careful, we don't know what they're capable of," he ordered them all. It was his job to stay on top of things, to make sure that when the fight was over that all team members were accounted for. He had to prove to Cruger that he was worthy of more, much more….maybe then the old dog commander would see what he really was made of.

"Right!" they all answered in reply, agreeing with their leader that they should be careful and watchful, at least until they knew more about what they were dealing with and where these strange creatures came from.

The girls teamed up against the mysterious creatures, throwing punches and kicks at their attackers, which showed themselves to be admirable opponents, blocking every move they threw. The rushing down of the water wasn't helping in making this fight any easier, but their training had prepared them for situations such as these. The girls turned to each other and nodded their heads; time to step it up a notch. They pulled out their morphers and Rangered up.

"Let's show them what girl power is made of, Z!"

"Right there with yah, sister!" exclaimed Z, as she and Syd combined their moves together, doing a rush attack against one of the purple creatures, sending it smacking against the wall.

"One down…."

"And over a dozen to go…." Syd replied, as she turned to face the other purple creatures that were facing them. She quickly got into a fighting stance and was back in action. Z turned to the purple creatures to Syd's other side; she tightened her fist together and charged towards them, fully intending to take each and every one of them down.

Sky fought valiantly against the creatures, taking on three to four at a time. He used quick and swift moves that he had learned over the years while in his time at the Academy, and even a few moves that Cruger himself had taught him. He drew out his blaster, and fired a few shots at an oncoming attacker. In another quick move Sky tossed his blaster up in the air, and quickly morphed into the red Ranger. Catching his blaster before it hit the ground he fired another shot, hitting an oncoming attacker square in the chest.

"Hah…. Is that all you got? I was expecting more…." He had spoken too soon. Not a second later, Sky felt as an arm wrapped tightly around his neck and another around his chest. The creature had somehow managed to pull his Ranger helmet off and tossed it to the ground. The red Ranger struggled to get free, but the hold the creature had on him was too strong.

The creature leered his mouth closer to Sky's ear, breathing his hot breath. "I have a message for you, Sky Tate…." it hissed. Sky angrily turned his head as best he could to meet the blazing yellow eyes of the creature.

"Oh no…" Bridge, now fully morphed into the green Ranger, could see that Sky was in trouble; he started towards his friend but several purple creatures jumped in front of him, preventing him from reaching Sky. He tried to move past them but the creatures shoved him against the gas tasks, causing the tanks to fall over. Bridge was quick to recover and was back on his feet in no time. He drew out his blaster, getting ready to fire, until he saw they were getting ready to fire back at him. And as if he saw a quick image in his head, his heart skipped…. _Oh crap…_ He turned and saw the tanks and could only watch as if in slow motion, as the creature fired at him, hitting the tanks in the process.

The creature breathed his hot breath against Sky's face. "From an _old _friend of yours….." Sky had no time to gather his thoughts when…..

BOOM!!! The explosion was so intense that it threw everyone back, including the creature that had been holding onto Sky. Everyone was on the ground, unmorphed, smoke and fire filled the room causing the other tanks in the building to explode, so much fire that the water that was sprinkling down was having a hard time keeping up with it and causing steam to spread throughout the building.

"Bridge!" cried out Z, seeing her friend lying on the ground, not moving. She jumped to her feet, only to be pulled back by the creatures. Syd jumped to her feet and started towards Bridge, but was soon in the same predicament as Z was. The two found themselves being cornered by the creatures

Sky lay on the ground coughing heavily from the smoke intake. He was in a daze from the force of the explosion; he had hit his head hard against the ground, there was a large cut running down the side of his head. Through fire and thick steam from the water he could see Bridge's body lying several feet away and to his other side, he could see Syd and Z in trouble with several of the creatures ganging up on them.

He pushed himself to his knees and grabbed a hold of his morpher. "Bridge…." He coughed. "Do you read me…." Seconds passed without a word, he could feel his heart pounding against his chest. He knew Bridge had been very close to the explosion, but he had been morphed during the time the explosion had gone off, but maybe it had been too much for his young green friend to handle. "Bridge…. Respond," he called again, hoping against hope, that his friend had somehow survived.

"…_..I read you, Sky…" _came a very faint voice.

"Bridge…. Are you okay?"

"_I think so…"_

"Can you move?"

Bridge was flat on his back; he could feel the hot fire around him. He tried to push himself up from the ground, but was unable to do so; an intense pain struck through his leg. He gritted his teeth tightly as he lay back flat on the ground. "I think my leg's broken."

_"Just hang in there, buddy."_

Sky got to his feet. He turned towards the girls, seeing that they appeared to be doing slightly better than before, than the last time he had checked up on them. He felt a shadow creeping over him. Sky reacted quickly and elbowed his attacker in the gut, then grabbed a hold of him and sent him flying towards the creatures that were threatening the girls. "You…guys think you can handle the rest? I got to get to Bridge."

"Yeah. We can take on the rest…." Syd answered, knowing that Bridge needed more help than they did at the moment.

"Have you seen Chase?" yelled Z, as she fought off her attackers. "I haven't seen him since the explosion…"

"No…." Sky shook his head. He had almost forgotten about their other team member in the commotion. He turned his head, looking all around, but couldn't find Chase anywhere. "Chase!" he shouted out. "Chase!" Sky continued to look around, and then he saw him, there was Chase huddled back in a corner, looking as though he had seen a ghost or something worse; he looked as though he was in shock.

Sky ran to him, having to jump over a small rising fire. He looked at his teammate. "Chase, are you all right?" As far as Sky could tell Chase didn't appear to be injured. "Can you help the girls? They're really outnumbered back there. I need to get to Bridge, he's broken his leg."

Chase didn't answer; his eyes just remained fixed on the fire as if he was lost in his own world. He didn't move, he didn't do anything….. "Chase!" Sky's voice rang out again. This time Sky got right into Chase's face, grabbing a hold of his shoulders and shaking him, trying to snap him out of whatever kind of trance he was in. "Chase!" Chase's eyes locked with Sky's. "Can you help the girls?"

"I….I…." The fire, the smoke….. It was all starting to come back to him, in quick violent flashes, he could hear their deathly cries, the blaster being shot, explosions going off in massive combinations. He could hear them crying out his name for help, but he couldn't help them, get to them in time…. The darkness…… The death……The horror….

"Chase? ….Damnit!" Sky yelled again, but realized that right now Chase was useless to him. He raised his morpher to his mouth. "Z, you need to replicate, Chase is in shock and is in no condition to fight." Sky reached for Chase's blaster and handed it to him, he stared him directly in the eyes. "Think you can handle shooting these things, to give me some cover to get to Bridge?" He didn't even wait for Chase to respond as he headed straight towards Bridge, having to take down a few of the creatures in the process.

Thanks to Z's replicas of herself, she and Syd managed to take out most of the remaining creatures that surrounded them. They turned and saw Chase huddled against a corner. "What do you thinks gotten into him?"

"Beats me!" Z shrugged her shoulders; Chase was the last person she would ever suspect would just lose it during a fight. She had always thought of him having more control. "Come on, we better get him and meet Sky and Bridge outside before this place blows."

"Sounds good to me."

Sky knelt down beside Bridge. "Sorry it took me so long to get to you, had a bit of a problem back there," he said as he helped Bridge up, leaning against his shoulder.

"With Chase…."

"Yeah. How'd….." He turned to Bridge, looking at him questioningly.

"Just before the explosion went off…. I picked up on something coming from him, something terrible…."

"Do you know what it was?"

"No…." Bridge shook his head.

More tanks started exploding around them. Sky quickly put up one of his protective shields to protect both him and Bridge from the impact. Once the explosion cleared, Sky put the shield down. "Come on, let's get you out of here…" Sky quickened his pace, knowing he needed to get both Bridge and himself out of this building; otherwise they would go down with it.

Outside the others waited for their friend to emerge from the now burning building. Sirens could be heard heading towards them. Syd could feel her heart racing, as she watched as the flames grow bigger with each and every passing second. A part of her had always known that Sky would die in the line of duty, she just never thought that day could come so quickly. "Sky…." she cried into her morpher, hoping for a response, but no response ever came.

Z bowed her head down, sighing, as she walked up behind her friend, gripping her shoulder. "He's okay, Syd. Just watch, any second now both Sky and Bridge will come out…" Or at least that's what she was hoping for.

Chase just stood back, watching the flames, since the moment he and the girls had run outside to escape the blazing building. He had snapped back to reality, but now could only watch as the building burned with two of his teammates still inside. He bowed his head down, sighing, unable to watch his friends' impending doom, nor hear the soft cries coming from Syd who was distraught over Sky still being inside. _What have I done?_

"I see them!" shouted Z.

Chase looked up, and sure enough there was Sky with Bridge hanging over his shoulder. Their faces were dirty and clothes half burnt, but they were alive. He watched as the girls ran towards them, but he stood back.

"Oh Sky, I was so scared," cried Syd as she threw her arms around him. Z had taken hold of Bridge and walked him several feet away from the building towards the sidewalk where they could wait for the emergency vehicles to reach them.

"It's okay, Syd." Sky put his arms around her. "I'm okay…." He gently stroked her cheek, looking her in the eyes, reassuring her that he really was okay. "I'm okay."

"Oh Sky." She buried her face into his chest. It never really had occurred to her how much losing him really did scare her.

* * *

Sky watched as his teammates headed out of the medical room, leaving only him and Chase. They had all been treated for mostly minor injuries, except for Bridge's leg, which had to be put in a cast. He would be on leave for a few weeks and have to walk on crutches, but other than that he was going to be just fine.

"What the hell was that all about!" yelled Sky as he shoved Chase back against the wall. He was obviously still upset over what had happened back during the fight, with Chase just completely losing it and not being of any use.

"What are you talking about?" Chase shoved Sky firmly away, looking him straight in the eyes. If there was one thing he hated, it was someone backing him up into a corner and getting into his face.

"You, blanking out back there!" Sky again shoved Chase's shoulder. "We nearly lost the fight because of you. Bridge could have died back there!" he shouted. "You're just damn lucky that Z was able to replicate herself to save your sorry ass." Sky was about to shove at Chase again, but this time his teammate responded, grabbing a hold of Sky's wrist and forcefully pushing it away from him. But Sky wasn't about to back down, not until he got the answer he was looking for. "I can't have a guy on _my_ team who isn't being truthful, and having their actions affect this team immensely!"

"Excuse me?" Chase's eyes widened as he glared right at Sky. Now it was his turn to get into Sky's face. "Those are pretty strong words coming from a guy who does the exact same thing!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not the only one with secrets here, Tate." Chase's eyes widened. "We all have our secrets."

"Yeah. Well at least I don't let mine affect the outcome of this team's status."

"The hell you don't!" Chase could see he was really getting to Sky and though he knew it might be out of order since Sky was his leader, at this exact moment he didn't care. If Sky was going to be lashing out at him for his own problems, he was going to make sure he pointed out Sky's. "Syd…."

"What about her?"

"She doesn't know your secret, does she?" he questioned him. He knew there were some things that Sky kept to himself and would not share with the team or even the woman who loved him. Not even Megan knew the secrets that Sky hid deep inside and Chase knew deep down that those secrets were affecting Sky greatly whether he wanted to admit it or not.

"It doesn't concern her." Sky folded his arms against his chest.

"The hell it doesn't! You're sleeping with her, aren't you….?" Chase watched as Sky slowly began to lose his composure. "You probably know everything about her, but she doesn't know a damn thing about you." Chase got right into Sky's face, nearly breathing down his neck. "You know what I think?" he exclaimed. "I think you're using her…"

"Shut the hell up!" Sky yelled as he rammed Chase against the wall. "I wouldn't do that to her!"

"What is going on in here?" roared Cruger.

Sky quickly let go of Chase and turned to face Cruger who was staring both of them down, waiting for an explanation from one of them.

"Well…?" He waited. "Isn't one of you going to tell me what that was all about?"

"It was just a misunderstanding, sir," answered Sky, not wanting to get into it with Cruger at the moment.

Cruger knew full well it was more than just a misunderstanding. He turned towards Chase. "Lt. Ryder, do you have anything to add to what Lt. Tate told me?" he asked sharply.

Chase straightened his uniform and gave Sky the coldest look he could ever give. "It was just as he said: a misunderstanding."

Cruger's eyes narrowed down on both of them. He could press further on the issue, because he knew that both of them were not being truthful, but he decided that for now it might be best for the two to work out their problems on their own. "Very well. Both of you are dismissed to go home; you have the rest of the night off."

"Yes sir." Sky saluted as he walked past Cruger and headed out.

Chase was just a few feet behind him, until Cruger got in his way. "Is there anything else you like to talk about, other than what went on now between you and Sky?"

"No sir. I have everything under control. I can assure you it will not happen again."

"I still have the nightmares too…" Cruger turned to Chase, watching as the young lieutenant headed out of the room. "If you ever need to talk, Chase, please don't hesitate to come to me."

"Thank you, sir." Chase smiled faintly as he made his way down the hall and headed straight towards the men's bathroom. Once inside, he just stared at himself in the mirror, disgusted with himself and how he had reacted during the fight. He thought that if he stepped down a couple of ranks, that he would be able to handle things better, but apparently he had been wrong. Dead wrong…. "Damnit!" he yelled, slamming his fist against the mirror.

Angrily he stormed out of the bathroom, not even caring about the cut on his hand, and headed straight down the hall, nearly bumping into Z who had just come from the memorial to honor Rangers who had fallen during battle.

"Sorry," said Z, as she stepped back a few feet. She then noticed the blood from the cut on Chase's hand and could see pieces of glass sticking out from it. "What'd you do to your hand? You should let Kat or Dr. Felix look at it."

"It's fine…." he hissed.

"What the hell is your problem?" asked Z. "You're not acting like yourself…"

Chase glanced at the door she had come from; it had been the same room he had seen her in and coming from for months now. "What were you doing in there?" He got right into her face. "You were looking at his picture again, weren't you, Clifford Chan?"

"So what if I was? What's it to you?" She shoved him away from her, not liking his attitude one bit. "I owe him my life."

"Your life." Chase laughed. "He may have saved your life, but he destroyed mine!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ask your brother…." Chase walked past her, brushing against her shoulder. _Damnit_. For the third time today, he had once again blown it, first the fight at the warehouse, then his argument with Sky and now his run-in with Z. "…..I'm sorry," he said finally as he turned down the hall.

* * *

"Were you able to find out anything?" asked Cruger as he walked into the lab where Kat and Boom had been working for the last couple of hours, trying to gather whatever information they could on what had attacked the Rangers.

Kat and Boom shared a wary glance, they had indeed found out something, something that frightened the hell out of both of them. Not too hard to do in Boom's case, but for Kat to be frightened meant this was really something. "Whatever attacked the Rangers wasn't living…which is why they were very similar to Z's ability of replication. Someone sent them to attack the Rangers and whoever did is more powerful than we ever imagined."

"Were you able to pick up a signal indicating whom or where they were being replicated from?"

Boom gulped in heavily. "It was a weak signal and we're not even a hundred percent positive, but it seemed to be coming from one of the prisons…."

"You're saying one of the criminals is doing this?"

"It's very likely…."

"I want you to gather every bit of information you can from every prisoner in SPD lockup. Find out which ones would have this type of ability," ordered Cruger. He knew that time could be short, because if it happened once, it could happen again.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Sky and Chase sat across from each other at the kitchen table eating their dinner, but this time was much different than weeks past. Back then they would talk about how the cadets were doing and their training. This time however, was complete dead silence followed by cold deadly stares and dirty looks.

"Sorry, I know I'm late, but I stayed after to help Sam with…." Megan took one glance at the two and knew immediately something was wrong. The eerie uncomfortable silence was already starting to take effect, which was something that she did not like. "Did I miss something here? What's gotten into you two? You guys look like you're about to kill each other…."

"Well, that's definitely one way of putting it," answered Sky.

"At least I don't go around screwing a girl whenever I can't deal with my problems…" remarked Chase. Sky pushed his plate away from him, nearly knocking it off the table. He got to his feet, his eyes still locked onto Chase. "You got something to say to me, Tate?" Chase was on his feet, ready for anything.

Sky clenched his fists together. Though he didn't want to, he knew that he should just back away. "I'm going out!" He grabbed his jacket and slammed the door on his way out.

"So I take it you two had a bad day," exclaimed Megan, knowing that it just wasn't like the two to bump heads like that. Sure they had had fights before, but nothing as bad as this.

Chase sighed heavily. He didn't know why he had said that to Sky; it had just come out like that. He slumped back into his chair, running his hand through his hair. "Something like that…."


	12. And Then There was The Blowout

Sky jerked awake. After his fight with Chase he had stormed out of their apartment and driven his bike downtown to where Syd and Z shared an apartment. He and Syd had talked for a little bit in the living room. They had the whole place to themselves; Z had decided to stay out at the academy and hang with Bridge to keep him company since Sophie was still away on another planet. They didn't talk about much, Syd kept on trying to figure out what was wrong with Sky. All he said was that he was fine, just glad that they had all made it out alive and that Bridge would be okay. Soon after the two headed to her bedroom, just as they had many times whenever Sky came over late.

Sky turned his head and found Syd sleeping soundly next to him, one arm wrapped around his waist. He began to wonder if Chase was right: _was he just using Syd as a way to avoid his problem or did he genuinely care for her_….. He gently stroked her face, brushing a blonde strand of hair out of her eyes. Being careful not to wake her, he carefully moved her arm off of him; pulling the covers off he got out of the bed and put on a pair of pants. He reached over and pulled the cover over her body. "Be right back…." he whispered as he ghosted a kiss onto her cheek.

He headed straight for the kitchen, he never really had finished his dinner and Syd had already eaten when he had arrived, not that he was hungry. He opened the fridge and started pulling out condiments to make a sandwich.

"Holy crap…." Z jumped the moment she turned the corner to find Sky in the kitchen. She hadn't expected to find him there; she didn't even know he was here. She had gotten home so late and just headed straight to bed the moment she walked through the door, which was only a couple of hours ago. "Sky….What are you doing here?" She raised her hand up, thinking about it for a moment. "Wait, on second thought…. I don't want to know…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" He turned to her, scowling, as he closed the fridge and started to make himself a sandwich.

"Nothing. I just don't care to know _every_ detail of your and Syd's love life." She eyed him; he was being moody, much more moody than normal. "What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing's gotten into me." he answered all too quickly.

"Right…." She nodded her head. "So you're always this moody, after you and Syd…."

Sky shot her an annoyed look. "I thought you said you weren't going to get into my love life with Syd."

"Right, sorry." She rolled her eyes as she walked around the counter and took a seat across from Sky. "So why are you upset?" she asked as she reached for a pickle.

"Z, it's four in the morning….." Now wasn't the time or the place to be talking about his issues with Chase, not that it concerned Z what had gone on between the two. "I don't want to talk about this now."

_And when do you ever talk about what bothering you… _"So you're admitting that there is something bothering you." Not that he needed to admit it, it was very obvious to her that he was upset about something, had been for months now.

"If I say yes, will you just drop it?"

"….It's about Chase, isn't?" She knew there could be a million other things that could be causing Sky's mood to be like this, but that was the only thing she could come up with at the moment. And she knew Sky had every right to be angry at Chase for what had happened. She herself was a little angry, but after her run in with Chase she was beginning to wonder if there was another story going on here, one that none of them knew about. Well….._almost everyone_.

"And why do you say that?" he asked as he took a bite of his sandwich.

"Well, for starters, you're sleeping here tonight…."

"So? I've slept over plenty of times before."

"And you're chowing down that sandwich like you haven't eaten anything in days." she commented, watching as he ate it like there was no tomorrow, which was something she was all too familiar with from back when she and Jack had lived on the streets never knowing when their next meal might be.

"I'm hungry…"

"You've never been _this_ hungry…."

Sky knew she was never going to let up. She had been on his case the moment he and Syd had started dating and nowadays it seemed like everyone else was getting on his case: about his relationship with Syd, his problems that he had been keeping to himself, things he couldn't really discuss even if he wanted to. "I'm going back to bed."

"Hey, you need to put all this stuff away…." she yelled after him, referring to the mess he had left on the counter.

"As I recall, you like living in a mess…."

"Men…" Z groaned.

Sky crawled back into bed and Syd cuddled up to him; she opened her eyes just a little. "Where'd you go?" she asked as she rested her head on his chest. "I thought you left."

"I just went to make a sandwich." He planted a kiss on her forehead. "Go back to sleep. I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay." Syd yawned heavily as she closed her eyes, very content having Sky lying so close to her.

* * *

Sky and Chase were in the training room with ten members of the B squad, five of which in the oncoming month would be chosen as the new B squad Ranger team. The training sessions had been going well, but the cadets could detect tension between their two Lieutenants in the way they would disagree over each judgment and how the class had been progressing. It looked as though either one of them could explode and lash out at the other at any moment.

Which didn't seem surprising to any of the cadets; a rumor had been going around for the past few days that Chase had lost it during one of the fights and caused Officer Bridge Carson to get injured. It was no surprise to them that 'by the book Sky' would be a little edgy on Chase, but as the class went on it seemed that more had happened between the two than just the mishap at the warehouse.

"Your target shooting has been moving along smoothly-"

"But it can be _better_," interrupted Sky. "In order for you to become a Ranger, you have to always be on your feet, always ready for anything." He glanced over at Chase. "And never let your guard down…"

"So how's the class going?" asked Z and Syd as they sat down next to Bridge who was sitting on a bench. He had been there since the class had begun. Having a broken leg left him with little to do, so he thought he would sit in on one of Sky and Chase's classes.

"….You can't just let it go, can you?" remarked Chase.

"I'll let it go when you start shaping up and getting your ass in the game!" answered Sky, now getting into Chase's face. The two were neck to neck, looking like they were going to start something…..

"Does that answer your question?" Bridge sighed; he had been seeing this behavior throughout all the sessions. He had even tried to step in to break the two apart already once today, but apparently it hadn't done much good.

"This has got to stop between them. Enough is enough!" exclaimed Z as she stood up from her seat, starting to get sick and tired of having to watch as the two continually argued day in and day out, not to mention the fact that Sky had been staying at the apartment the whole time this had been going on. While Syd might be enjoying having Sky around more often, she was starting to get annoyed with having him around all the time. She already worked with the guy, she didn't want to live with him too.

"I know Sky was angry that Chase messed up during the fight, but we've all messed up before," said Syd, who for the life of her could not figure out why Sky was being so hard on Chase. She understood he was their leader and had a lot of pressure and more responsibility than he had when he was blue, but even Sky himself had made mistakes and they had always backed him up. Why wouldn't he do the same thing?

"You've wanted to start something the past three days, so why don't you just do it?" announced Chase. He was getting tired of this back and forth and just wanted something to happen, just to get it over and done with.

"Gladly!" Sky clenched his fists together and took the first swing, but Chase was ready for him and blocked the punch by grabbing hold of Sky's fist and then took his own swing, punching Sky smack in the face.

"Oh crap!" sighed Z, all she and her friends could do was watch, along with the ten cadets who just stood there stunned.

Sky wiped away the blood from his lip and locked his eyes smack on Chase. "Bastard!" Angry and wounded with pride, Sky attacked Chase.

"….Hey guys, guess who's back!" Jack entered the room and could only watch as Sky knocked Chase to the ground, punching him in the face continuously. "Did I miss something here?"

"What is going on here!" roared Cruger's voice.

Chase was on the ground, face bloody, with Sky on top of him looking no better. Sky cursed under his breath as he immediately got off of his teammate and stepped away as Chase slowly pushed himself to his feet. The whole room fell silent; a pin drop could be heard a mile away as Cruger's eyes lingered on each and every one of them. The cadets just stood back trying to make as little eye contact with their commander as they could; all of them knew this wasn't going to be good. It was strictly against regulations for officers to engage in such aggressive behavior with each other.

"Well, isn't anyone going to answer?" he ordered, searching the room looking for a victim. His eyes locked onto Danny Rockford. "Cadet Rockford, can you tell me what just happened between Lieutenants Tate and Ryder?"

_Oh shit!_ Danny could feel his heart racing, this definitely was not the type of position he wanted to be in. He and Sky had trained at the academy together and the last thing he wanted was for Sky and even Chase to lose their positions here, but he knew if he didn't speak up he himself could be kicked out. "Well ah…. Cruger…."

Sensing that Danny needed help, Bridge pushed himself to his feet, leaning on his crutches. "What I think Danny is trying to say is that…. Sky and Chase were demonstrating how not to lose control with… eh um… leadership of the commanding officer."

Cruger eyed Bridge coolly. "Sit down, Officer Carson."

"Yeah….but…."

"Sit down!"

"Sitting down." Bridge gulped in heavily and took back his seat on the bench next to Syd; she gently gripped his shoulder

"Cadets, I want you to go out on the training course and run ten laps. Dismissed!"

"Sir!" They all saluted him before hurrying out the door, not even wanting to know what was going to happen next, all too afraid that both Sky and Chase would become permanent fixtures on the floor and they didn't want to be next.

Cruger approached the two who stood a few feet apart, neither one looking too happy. He was furious with both of them; never had he ever been so disappointed and ashamed of any of his cadets until now. "You two have a lot of explaining to do."

* * *

After Cruger had intervened he had ordered the other Rangers and Jack to leave so he could deal with Sky and Chase privately. Z and Jack had gone off to the park so they too could have some privacy; it had been a few months since the two had last seen each other.

"It's so good to see you. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." Jack smiled warmly at her and wrapped his arm around her, giving one of his brotherly hugs.

"How's Ally?"

"She's good. Told me to tell you hi ….oh and Mom and Dad send their love." It hadn't been too difficult for her to think of Jack's parents as hers too; they had taken her in the moment she and Jack had walked through the door. These days she was happier than she had been in years; she had a family that actually wanted her, even loved her.

"Yeah. I've been meaning to give them a call, but you know how work goes…."

"….Speaking of work." Jack led her over to a park bench. "How long have Sky and Chase been at each other's throats? I thought I was the only one that could get Sky's goat."

"A few days. It all started when we got a call to check out a warehouse, Chase just kind of lost all focus….And you know how Sky can be about duty."

"Yeah…" Jack knew all too well that Sky held duty very high, maybe even too high. "So Chase basically couldn't do anything ….at all."

"Yeah. It was like he was in shock or something…frozen almost…"

"Oh boy." Jack ran his hand over his face.

"You know something, don't you…." Z turned to her brother, knowing all his looks, and this one told her he knew something. "About Chase…"

"Look, I didn't think I would ever have to say anything about this, but given the situation between him and Sky…. And then with the added fact of your growing feelings for Cliff." He rubbed the back of his neck. "It's kind of why I came here to see you…."

"What does Cliff have to do with any of this….." Chase did seem to have some type of grudge against Cliff, but she felt that it was just a grudge; she had never expected it could be anything bigger than that.

Jack's face no longer looked happy, he knew all too well how Cliff fitted into Chase's problems, though a part of him didn't want to believe it. He owed his life to Cliff, if Cliff hadn't rescued them he would be dead, he would have never seen his parents again. He and Ally wouldn't be a couple. "A lot more than you think…."

* * *

"I have never been more ashamed of both of you," exclaimed Cruger as he stared both Sky and Chase down. They were now sitting on a bench, their heads hung low, each holding a towel to his face to prevent blood from going all over the place. "If Supreme Commander Birdy had witnessed this, he would have both of you discharged and held in confinement!"

Sky and Chase continued to remain quiet throughout the whole ordeal; they both knew they were in for it big. There would be no way they could deny that something was going on between them; Cruger had witnessed first hand that the two had a problem with each other, a very big problem. Cruger continued to walk back and forth, anger and fury burning inside. He has never been so angry in all his life, which had been a rather long one considering he was much older than Kat Manx, who was one hundred and twenty eight years old. "And this show of such behavior during a session with future Rangers, is _unacceptable_!" he exclaimed. "I expect more out of you two." His eyes then moved right to Sky. "Especially you."

Sky could only watch as Cruger continued to look at him with such disappointment and rambled on. "I appointed you the leader, red Ranger. This is not how a red Ranger should be behaving. I may have tolerated this behavior when you were blue, but mark my words I will not tolerate it now that you are red! Is that understood, Lt. Tate!"

"Yes. Sir…"

"Good…" he hissed, as he moved more to the center to face both of them. "Now for punishment, I am giving you each a week's suspension, starting tomorrow…."

"That's bull!" shouted Sky, jumping from his seat. "I'd rather have a week of night duty."

"Make it _two weeks_ for you, Lt. Tate. Do you want to make it three?"

Sky took deep breaths, he could feel the anger burning inside, but knew Cruger meant business. Two weeks suspension was bad enough. He took his seat back on the bench.

"Perhaps the time off will help both of you get past this childish, pitiful behavior." He hated to suspend them, especially with Bridge on inactive duty and an unknown threat on the horizen, but they had left him with little choice. He could not have two of his top officers at each other's throats. He held out his hands, eyeing them. "Hand in your morphers."

Chase unclipped his morpher from his belt and handed it to Cruger. Sky was a little reluctant to hand in his morpher, it was the worst kind of punishment he could think of, but he finally placed it in Cruger's hand. "Dismissed!"

Both of them stood up and saluted him. "Sir…."

Outside in the hall, shoulder hunched over, Sky stormed his way through. Chase started after him. "Sky, wait up…. I wanted to…."

"Just leave me the hell alone!" Sky shot back, wanting nothing to do with Chase.

Chase stopped dead in his tracks, watching as Sky turned the corner. Things between them had definitely escalated into something far worse, part of which he knew was his fault. While he might have had good reason for bringing up Syd, it probably would have been better to discuss it in an entirely different manner.

"And you, Lt. Ryder…." Chase turned around to find Cruger standing behind him. "I suggest you find someone to talk to, before things get worse…"

"Yes sir," he answered softly. He knew Cruger was right, as much as he hated to admit it. He needed to talk to someone about what had happened to him, the day his whole life changed, the day he lost everything.

* * *

Z's eyes widened, she couldn't believe it. It just didn't seem possible, but deep down she knew it was true. Now it was all starting to make sense: Chase's harsh tone whenever she talked about Cliff, and how Cliff had acted around her, as if he didn't deserve any compassion. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"When I first learned about the attack on Gamma 4, the details on who did the attacks were always unclear. Chase was in a coma for months and by the time he came out of it and was able to say what had happened, A Squad had been found and Cruger was debriefing them…"

"So Cruger knew when we brought them in?"

"All he knew was what Commander Corbet from Mirinoi had told him, of the possibility that A Squad went rogue." Jack bit his lips. "I wanted to tell you guys, but I was under strict instructions not to say a word, even after I left." Jack gripped Z's shoulder, knowing this was a lot for her to take in, but it needed to be said. "….I know you like Cliff." Z turned her face away, not wanting to admit to it, but she knew that Jack knew her too well. "You always did have a thing for bad boys….Look at us." He smiled faintly.

Z returned the smile. "You know, I tried to be something to Cliff, but he turned me away, like he couldn't ever be happy."

"Maybe that's his way of making up for his mistakes…"

"Yeah." Her face saddened a little. "But everyone deserves to be happy at least once in their life." Cliff hadn't really had a happy life. He had witnessed the murder of his father and had been abducted before his mother could get to him; all his life had been was one nightmare after another.

"Yeah…." Jack wrapped his arm around her, letting Z rest her head on his shoulder.

* * *

"Hey Sky!" Megan ran up to Sky who was hopping onto his motorcycle. "I was wondering if we could go over some self-defense moves. I have a test coming up and need to practice."

"Not now, Megan…." He put on his helmet and drove out of the SPD garage without even a wave goodbye.

Megan just stood there watching as Sky drove away. Sydney walked up behind her and had witnessed the whole thing; she gently placed her hands on the young girl's shoulder. "I'm sure he'll be up to it tomorrow, sweetie. He and Chase had another fight today."

"Yeah. That's all they seem to be having lately…."

_"Would Officers Drew and Delgado please report to the command center."_

"You going to be okay?' asked Syd.

"Yeah. Go ahead, I'll find Sam and practice with him."

Syd smiled. "Okay. I'll see you later."

Syd had no idea why Cruger had wanted to see just her and Z and not the others. She assumed it had to do with the attack of a few days before, that perhaps Kat and Boom had figured out what they were dealing with.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes." Cruger looked over Syd's shoulder. "Where is Z?"

"I think she may still be out with Jack."

"I see…." Cruger didn't appear to be upset by that. He had already had enough turmoil for one day.

"Do you want me to call her…"

"No. No…." Cruger sighed in heavily, knowing that this would come as a shock to Syd, but… "Starting tomorrow you and Z will take over the B Squad Ranger program class for the next week."

"Aren't Sky and Chase teaching that class…"

"They have been suspended. Chase will be back teaching the class a week from tomorrow. Sky will be back in two weeks."

"Sky was suspended for two weeks?" Now she could see why Sky had brushed Megan off and driven off. Syd knew how important being part of SPD and a Ranger was to Sky, it was his whole life. It meant everything to him. It must have crushed him when Cruger suspended him, and while she understood why Cruger needed to, she still felt for Sky, both as his friend, but even more so as his lover.

"Yes. Is that going to be a problem?"

Syd could feel Cruger's eyes beating down at her. "No. Not at all, sir."

"Good."

* * *

It was late; Chase had decided it was best that he not return to the apartment at least for tonight, not wanting to have a run in with Sky, though he suspected that he might be staying with Syd as he had the past few nights, but to be on the safe side. He had had most of the afternoon to think about everything that had happened and knew the best thing for him to do was to do what he had come here for, and that was to continue his mission of finding out about his past.

He slowly walked into the Command Center where he found Commander Cruger standing at his post. "Sir…."

"Lt. Ryder… Is there something you need?"

Chase humbly approached his commander; the last thing he ever meant to do was show any disrespect to Cruger or to SPD. Things had just happened and gotten out of control between him and Sky. "I want to apologize for today, sir. It should have never happened and I take full responsibility for what went on."

"Thank you for your apology." But he could tell that was not the only reason why Chase had come to him. "Is there something else?"

"Yes. There's something I need to do, but it requires transportation and I would prefer to drive myself."

"You would like to borrow one of the academy's trucks?"

"Yes, sir, if it's not too much trouble…."

"Will this trip help in your recovery…?"

"I don't know." His face was unsure, he wasn't sure what to expect from it; all he knew was he needed to do this now more than ever. "I hope so."

"I'll make arrangements tomorrow; you should have it by mid afternoon."

"Thank you, sir."

"Chase…." Cruger paused for a moment. "I hope you find what you're looking for."


	13. The Plan

Hayley opened her front door to find Tommy staring back at her. His face was uneasy, not too surprising after what had gone on with the two of them; it hadn't even been a full two weeks yet since she told him about the child she had given up years ago, a child he had fathered.

Rex the family dog was jumping up at Tommy's legs, a gift he had bought the kids months before. Tommy bent down to pick the pup up, almost using the dog as some sort of security blanket. His face became very serious. For weeks now he had debated on whether or not to tell Hayley the truth about what he had known all these years; while it would be difficult, he knew that it was time for the two of them to stop keeping secrets from each other. They had protected each other long enough. "Hayley, we need to talk."

"Okay…" She wasn't sure what that meant, but the look on his face was serious and even worrisome, as if whatever he had to tell her had been hanging on his shoulders for a long time. She led him to the living room where they could have some privacy away from the kids who were upstairs playing video games. Eric was away at work in Silver Hills for the day, going through two very important meetings at Bio-Lab, concerning its future with SPD.

The two settled on the couch, Tommy with Rex in his lap rubbing the dog's back. He knew she would be angry that all these years he had kept it to himself, knowing full well how hard it was, but yet she too had never spoken a word, but then again she had no clue that he knew anything. He bit his lip, taking a deep breath as he met her eyes in what felt like a moment that would never end. "I knew, Hayley……"

"Knew what?" She had no clue what he was referring to, the two had hardly seen each other since she had told him.

"About the baby…." He watched as her face went through all sorts of emotions. Shock. Anger. Hurt. All bundled into one.

"You knew!" she exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief. "But….but how…."

"One night when I showed up to pick you up for one of our dates. I stepped into the bathroom, found one of the tests."

"….But you could have thought it could have been any one of us." she exclaimed. There had been two other girls living there at the time as well. "How'd you know it was me, Tommy?"

"You'd seemed uneasy that night. I tried to get you to tell me…." He sighed, as he let Rex jump off his lap. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to flat out say it. I wanted you to be ready to tell me…"

She could understand that. She had been freaked out by the whole thing and needed time to deal with it before she told him. Back then they had been so young, she wasn't sure how he would have taken it, after all they hadn't really planned on getting together; it just sort of happened. "But then the thing with the gems happened." She watched as he nodded his head. And without any words she understood why he had left without a word, after all these years, she finally understood why. "You were afraid, weren't you? Afraid something bad could happen to me or the baby, if anyone knew?"

"More than you ever knew."

"And you calling me out of the blue, after you escaped. It wasn't just to catch up on old times? You wanted to know…."

"Yeah."

Hayley smiled faintly. All these years, her and Tommy's relationship has been a strange one, each one feeling guilty for things that had happened. So each one over the years had done things for the other, things that went above and beyond a friendship. "All these years I thought I was the one who was feeling guilty."

"I don't want our friendship to be based on guilt anymore…."

"Neither do I." Hayley knew she couldn't be angry with him; the two had suffered enough. She leaned in and gave him a hug, a hug both of them needed to let go of all the guilt each one had been holding in all these years. Today would mark a new beginning, a beginning without the guilt.

When they pulled away Tommy smiled back, grateful for her understanding. He had left out one minor detail about the ring, but that was something he didn't need to share. There was no reason to bring up that. "Did you ever try to find him?" All these years a part of him had always had wondered about the child they had, about what had happened to him, if he was okay and happy.

"I tried once." She licked her lips. "Mr. Collins set me up with a private investigator. I never told him who it was for, just that I needed to find someone."

"What happened?"

Hayley shook her head disappointingly. "He came up empty, couldn't find a thing. Back when it first happened it had been so difficult for me and my parents, that back then the less we knew about the adoption the better. The agency promised us they had placed him with a good family and that was all I knew…"

To hear the story, knowing he should have been there for her broke his heart, but it was something he needed to hear. "I should have been there for you and I'm sorry I wasn't."

"It was a long time ago."

"If you want to..." he reached out and gripped her shoulder, "I'll help you try to find him. Whatever it takes."

* * *

When Syd opened her apartment door it was pretty late. With Bridge off duty and Cruger having suspended both Sky and Chase earlier in the day, she and Z had worked overtime. Z was still there on night duty and would remain there at least until tomorrow and would stay in one of the academy dorms. She walked inside and found someone sitting on the couch with their head down, sighing heavily she closed the door behind her and set the keys down.

"I thought you might be here." She was pretty sure she had seen his bike parked in the lot when she had driven in. She sat down next to him, wrapping her arm around him. "You going to be okay?"

"I will when I get my morpher back," he answered with a bit of tension in his tone. He was still plenty upset over what had happened earlier. "Cruger shouldn't have taken it away."

"Yes, he should have." She looked him in directly in the eyes and right away she could see he was angry and hurt by what she had said, but at the moment she didn't care. She might be his girlfriend but that didn't mean she would always side with him, not when she didn't agree with what had happened between Sky and Chase during the class session. They were supposed to be role models, be looked up to, and the behavior the two had shown was anything but something to look up to. "And you know I'm right. Commander Cruger could have done a lot worse…"

Sky turned away from her, hating it when she was right. Cruger could have done a lot worse; two weeks suspension was nothing compared to what really could have happened. Right now he could be sitting in a cell with no chance of ever getting his morpher or rank back. He felt as Syd reached for his hand, taking it into her own.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"No." After he had left the academy, food was the farthest thing from his mind. He just rode on his bike for a while, not really caring where he ended up, just as long as it wasn't anywhere near Chase Ryder he could have cared less. But after a couple of hours of just wandering he had ended up here and just sat on the couch in the dark. Alone. Alone with his thoughts, with his anger right at his fingertips. "Not hungry…"

He knew he had acted inappropriately, but he just couldn't help himself. Chase had hit on some sore spots, pushed the wrong buttons and he was already upset with him to begin with. He had just lost control of himself and couldn't stop. And right now he was having a hard time letting go of his anger.

"You need to eat, Sky." She gently stroke his hand, hoping that her gentle and soothing touch could break through that stone coldness in him that he put up when he was angry or just didn't want to talk about his problems. "It'll be my treat…"

"I should get going…." He pulled his hand away, getting up from the couch. "You're going to need your sleep, with me on inactive duty….Cruger will have you and Z working a lot of hours." He started heading towards the door.

"Sky. You don't have to go." She went after him, grabbing him by the shoulder. "You shouldn't be alone tonight." A big part of her was afraid of what he would do alone, the way he was right now.

He turned to face her, sighing heavily. The truth was he too was afraid what he would do. He didn't want to go back to his apartment, just on the chance that Chase could be there, and right now he didn't want to run into the guy. And he couldn't go to Reefside after what happened, along with everything else he couldn't face there, especially when there was the chance of running into someone else he wanted to avoid more than Chase. "What about Z? She hasn't exactly been thrilled with me staying over the last few nights."

"She'll be at the academy all night." She wrapped her arms around his neck, looking into his eyes. "We have the whole place to ourselves." She leaned her head against his, smiling as she ghosted a kiss onto his lips. "Now how about I get you some dinner?"

He smiled faintly. "Sounds good."

She quickly kissed him on the cheek, as she made her way over to the fridge and stove to make the two of them a bite to eat before they would head off to bed.

* * *

Cruger was standing at his post. He had relieved Z and had sent her off to bed in one of the academy dorms knowing that she had a long day ahead of her tomorrow and he wanted her to be ready to roll tomorrow, as she and Syd would take on more duties in the absence of their teammates. He was frustrated to say the least. It was more directed towards Sky than Chase, whose issues, while they did concern him, were a little easier to deal with. He hoped that the trip that Chase would be taking would resolve the young blue Ranger's problems.

Sky, however, would be a little more difficult. He had for years tried to help Sky with his anger issues, but had yet been able to accomplish anything. A lot of which could be his own fault, he might have tried too hard or maybe not hard enough. Maybe he had just protected Sky for far too long and never had tried to help him the way he should have. He had known back on the very day Sky came to the academy that the boy had issues, but back then he had been too set on getting him into the program, ready for the future and the fact that deep down inside he felt like he owed something to Sky for the death of his father.

"You can't blame yourself….." Kat announced as she walked into the command center.

"What are you doing up so late?" He turned to her. "You should be asleep."

"You're not the only one around here who works late."

"Do you think I did the right thing by suspending Sky for two weeks?"

"Yes, I do. The time off for Sky will be good for him. He works far too hard as it is." She set her files off to the side and gave him a sidelong look, knowing there was more to it. "But that's not what you're asking, is it?"

He should have known that Kat would be able to see through him and get to what he really was getting at. He and Kat had known each other for years and, like his wife, she too knew when he was hiding something. "Commander Birdy asked that in five years when he steps down that I take over for him."

"That's a great honor, that he would ask you that." She was also pointing out the fact that Birdy and he had never been on the same level with each other. But deep down she knew that Birdy had made the right choice, Cruger was the best man, or dog, to take over all of SPD. For as long as she had known him, she had known that he cared very deeply about this establishment. "I don't understand what the problem is though. I would have thought you would be thrilled. For as long as I've known you, you always wanted that job."

"It is….but…. It would also mean having to choose my replacement…." He eyed her. "And after today, I don't know if he could handle it, and Chase doesn't want the job." He was torn. How could he leave Earth's SPD base in charge of someone he wasn't a hundred percent sure could handle it?

And now she understood why this had been so difficult for him. She knew he was right; Sky was the best choice, he was one of the best they'd had at the academy in years, but he had one flaw and it wasn't a minor one. "Maybe in five years things will be different."

Would five years make a difference? Would Sky be able to get past all his anger and handle his emotions better? Would Chase change his mind about the position? He didn't know. Five years was a long time. Anything could happen. Things could get worse or things could get better. He felt as Kat gripped his shoulder. "You have to stop being so hard on yourself."

"I know. It's just difficult with him. I've never been this way with any of the other cadets or Rangers."

"You need to forgive yourself for Wes's death. That was a long time ago, Doggie, it's time to let go."

And that was what made things so difficult for him and Sky. Wes was a big part of the problem. Sky had done everything he could to become just like his dad, while a big part of Cruger had never forgiven himself for Wes's death. And because of that he held Sky in high regards and expected a lot out of him, sometimes maybe too much. "That is something I will never be able to do." He faced her. "I should have been the one out there fighting Merloc. I should have been the one to answer the call, not Wes." But he had been a coward back then, too afraid to pick up his sword and fight. It had been a problem that had taken him years to get over.

"You can't keep doing that to yourself and try to help Sky at the same time. That could very well be the void that prevents you from getting through to Sky."

"As I recall, you too were upset about me calling Wes in."

"We were both wrong," she answered. "But I am telling you this as a friend, that in order for you to ever get through to Sky and give him the help he _needs_, you need to let go, Doggie." For too long she had watched as he held onto his guilt and watched as it had hardened him and prevented him from doing the things that he needed to do. "Wes would want you to…"

* * *

"Okay, I need to go pack my bags and get ready," announced Chase as he and Megan entered the apartment. He had brought her home since the young cadets had two weeks vacation. The first week of which Megan had decided to stay in Newtech City so she and Sam could hang out, and then she was planning on going home to Reefside the next week.

"And where are you going?" asked Megan as she went to the fridge to grab something to eat.

"Rather not say, just some place I need to go."

Megan just shook her head and grabbed a water bottle off the shelf. Ever since she had uncovered the little bits and pieces of information from the scraps of papers he had, he had been acting a little strange and didn't want to talk about what he was doing; as if he were afraid something bad could come out of it. "Does it have something to do with Rose White?" But she never got an answer out of him, as he entered the main room with a bag packed full. "When's Sam getting here?"

"He said he'd be here by one."

Chase looked at his watch; it was a just about ten minutes until one. "Shouldn't be too long then, as he doesn't have to worry about traffic."

"You know…" Megan took a sip of her water. "You don't have to wait around. I'm sure Sky will show up eventually."

He had to grin at that, Megan had spunk to her. "Nice try, but I was a kid once too. I'm not leaving you and Sam alone without some supervision."

"Come on, I'm fourteen." She crossed her arms against her chest. "I'm not a baby."

"Nope, you're not a baby." He smiled. "But I know for a fact that you can get in plenty of trouble and I really don't want to hear about it from Sky later on."

"Speaking of which, have you two gotten over your little feud?"

Chase was about to answer when the apartment door opened. "Great, you're here!" Sky slammed the door shut. It might be the start of a new day, but he really didn't care to run into Chase first thing.

"Guess not…." Megan muttered under her breath, feeling once again that awkwardness between the two, as if both sides expected her to choose a side to be on, something which she didn't want to do.

"Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair within the hour," remarked Chase. He had hoped that a night of sleep would have cooled Sky down, but apparently Sky was still fuming. "I'm going to be out of town for a few days."

"Don't bother." Sky got right into Chase's face. "I was just leaving, anyways…."

"Sky, come on, can we stop this and call a truce?" Chase was tired of this. He didn't want to leave things unresolved between them while he went on his trip to find himself. He wanted things to go back to how they were when he first had arrived and joined the team.

"No." Sky shook his head. "It's too late for that…."

"Hey guys! What's going on?" announced Sam as he appeared in the apartment.

"Sam!" yelled Sky, as he turned to the young boy.

"Oops. Sorry. I forgot…." Sam quickly teleported out before Sky could say or do anything else.

"Sam…Don't…." Megan turned to Sky, now she had had about enough of his attitude. "Nice going, Sky. You're such a jerk sometimes…." Megan for the first time ever stared at him in disgust and turned away as she headed towards her room and slammed the door shut.

"Thanks…" Sky glanced at Chase hard and turned away as he headed towards the door. He opened it and found Sam getting ready to knock, staring up at him a little frightened. Sky sighed heavily, he didn't know what was wrong with him; lately he seemed to be snapping at just about everyone. "Later, Sam…" He walked past the boy and didn't look back.

Sam walked into the apartment and turned to Chase. "Is Sky okay?"

"I don't know, Sam." Chase sighed heavily as he closed the door behind them. "I hope so." He grabbed his cellphone off his belt and dialed a number. "Hey Bridge…. What are you doing tonight?"

About a half hour later, Chase returned once again to the apartment with Bridge. Having no clue if Sky was ever going to show up later, he didn't want to leave Megan alone in the apartment, and the girls were teaching a class with what would be future Rangers in the making.

"Okay, there, all yours." Chase patted Bridge on the back, as he picked up his bag from the floor. "I'll see you later, Megan."

"Okay." Megan turned from the couch to bid farewell to Chase

"Have a nice trip," waved Sam.

"Thanks." Chase waved goodbye and headed out the door.

"So…." Bridge moved along on his crutches and went to join the two on the couch. "What do you guys want to do tonight? I thought we'd order in and watch the science channel, they have this really neat special on how to upgrade computers and appliances together."

Megan and Sam shared a look and then a grin crossed Megan's face. A grin Sam knew all too well. He began shaking his head no, knowing just where this was going to go and he didn't like it one bit. "Hey, I got an idea." Megan turned to Bridge excitedly. "How about we play hide and go seek."

Bridge looked at her, a little confused. "You still play hide and go seek?"

Sam was about to answer, but Megan kicked him in the leg before he could say a word. "Yeah we love hide and go seek." She turned to Sam, giving him that look, that he better go along with it or else. "Don't we, Sam?"

"Yeah." he ground his teeth as he rubbed his leg. "We love it," he reluctantly answered, going along with whatever plan Megan had just come up with.

"That's great!" exclaimed Bridge. "I thought I was the only one who still liked to play that game."

"Really?" Megan was amused, to say the least, it was like taking candy from a baby. "How 'bout you count and we hide."

"Okay." Bridge closed his eyes tight.

"Don't forget to cover your ears," announced Megan as she motioned for Sam to get off the couch.

"Oh right, I almost forgot." Bridge covered his ears and began counting. "One…..two….three…."

"Come on…." Megan whispered, as she held her hand out.

"Oh, you so are going to owe me for this…." Sam groaned, as he took hold of her hand and teleported the two of them out.

"Four….Five….Six….Seven….Eight….Nine….Ten…" Bridge opened his eyes; both Sam and Megan were gone from the room. "Ready or not, here I come, you two…"

* * *

Sky was in what used to be his and Bridge's old room at the academy; now it was only Bridge's, with a spare bed. He was taking all his frustration out on the punching bag that hung from the ceiling. He just had been so angry lately and couldn't for the life of him stop being angry.

Jack emerged into the room. While he was staying here he had decided to stay in the dorm room with Bridge. He hadn't expected to find Sky working out. "Isn't that a little unfair advantage, fighting someone that doesn't fight back?" he announced as he watched Sky beat the hell out of the bag like it was a piece of meat.

"What do you want, Jack?" asked Sky as he continued his workout with a little annoyance. All he wanted was to be alone right now, with no interruptions.

"Well, I was going to take a nap." he answered as he sat down on one of the beds. "But seeing as you're in one of your moods…"

"Look!" Sky threw down his gloves and turned to Jack. "I've just been going through a lot lately, so the last thing I need is for you to give me some of your bullshit!"

"Hey. Where's the fire?" Jack jumped to defense. "You need to chill out, Sky, it's me, Jack, your friend. Talk to me, buddy…."

Sky sighed heavily, as he slumped down onto the other bed across from Jack, running his hand over the back of his head. "Sorry. Things have just been so messed up lately…'

"Then talk to me, tell me what's going on. I mean, things were great before I left with Ally. We defeated Gruumm, you became red Ranger….I mean, what went wrong?" Jack leaned forward, hoping to reach out to Sky like he had in the past to get through to him.

Sky bit his lip. He wanted to tell Jack what had gone wrong, but he couldn't, for all sorts of reasons. "I can't tell you. It's personal."

"Okay…." He supposed he could understand that, but he had learned that holding things in like that only made them worse. "Then why don't we talk about the falling out between you and Chase." He grinned. "Because I mean I'm a little hurt that we never had a hashing out with fists." Which got a smile and a laugh out of Sky. "….Ah now, there's the Sky we all love." Jack bumped his fist against Sky's, smiling back. "I may be able to bring in some light about Chase, though." He licked his lips. "Something that may help you understand him a little better."

"Okay…." Sky wasn't sure where this was going to go, but he trusted that Jack wouldn't bring it up if it wasn't important.

* * *

It had been over two hours and Bridge had not yet been able to find Megan or Sam anywhere in the apartment. He had searched every room, cabinet and hiding place he could come up with. He had even shouted that he gave up, but still the two had yet to show themselves.

"Guys, come on. I give up. You win!" he shouted again, but still there was no answer.

A few seconds later the apartment door opened and in walked Z. "Bridge? What's going on? I could hear you shouting all the way downstairs," exclaimed Z, who had just gotten off work and had heard from one of the cadets that Bridge had come here to watch Megan and Sam, so that Chase could leave for his trip.

"I was playing a game of hide and seek with Megan and Sam, and now I can't find them."

"How long have they been hiding?" she asked him, already suspicious.

Bridge looked at his watch. "A couple of hours. I've searched this apartment from the inside out." He dug his hand into his pocket. "And made a dollar eighty-five, doing it."

"Was the game your idea or Megan's?"

"It was Megan's…." answered Bridge, not seeming to see why who came up with it was important. "Why?"

Z just shook her head as she gripped her friend's shoulder; for a smart guy he could be pretty dumb sometimes. "Bridge. Bridge. Bridge. I think Megan pulled a fast one on you."

"She doesn't like hide and seek, does she?"

"Nope…." Z shook her head, as she continued to pat him on the shoulder.

"Well, I feel….."

"It's okay. It happens to the best of us…."

"No. If Megan isn't here….' He looked her in the eyes, as his eyes widened. "Then that means…."


	14. The Journary Part 1

For the last couple of hours Chase had been driving nonstop in the SPD truck that had been loaned to him. He planned to drive straight through and would set the truck on auto-drive when he needed to get some sleep. He could feel the slight rapid pounding inside his chest. He was anxious to get to his destination; this had been something he had wanted to do for four years, but up until now he had never had the opportunity. He and Callie had always said they would come to Earth and take this trip, but that had all changed in one final moment when she had died in his arms. He shook the thought away, wanting to remember her the way she had been.

_Chase wrapped his arms tightly around Callie as they stopped in the park, just to hold each other for a moment. They just stood there in each other's comfortable feelings as the sun shone down on them and a light breeze went past them. Love was in both of their eyes._

_"Just think, one day soon we will go to Earth…" She kissed him lightly on the lips as she took his hand and led him to a bench._

_"What if we can't find them? I can't even begin to piece together the papers my parents had. Most of it was destroyed when the ship crashed." He bowed his head down, sighing heavily. "I….I just don't want …I don't want any more disappointments, any more losses."_

_She gently stroked his cheek. "Hey don't get yourself so down. Everything is going to be fine, Chase." She smiled brightly at him, looking into his eyes. "You'll see."_

_"How can you be so sure?"_

_"Because when I was a little girl, my dad told me that anything is possible if you put your mind to it."_

_"Your dad's a pretty smart guy." He ran his hand through her hair as he caressed her cheek._

_"Of course he is. He did appoint you Red Ranger."_

_"Well…." He chuckled. "I always thought it was because he couldn't stand for his little girl to be the one in charge." He kissed her lightly on the lips. "Because you're a way better fighter than me."_

_"Well, I do have a lot to live up to…"_

_"Yeah. Having a dad and an uncle who were Power Rangers kind of can do that to you." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "My dad was just a simple violence-free dentist."_

_She laid her head against his shoulder. "And look how you turned out."_

…..But that was a long time ago. Callie was dead and would not be able to make this trip with him, at least not in the way he had hoped she would. He knew she would be with him; no matter how far apart they were, she was with him. All he hoped for now was that this trip wouldn't be a mistake; that he would find what he was looking for.

He took a right turn at the light just as his cellphone began to ring.

He answered it. "Hello?"

_"Hey Chase, this is Bridge….."_

"Hey Bridge. Is everything okay?"

_"Well…um…." _

_"Just tell him…." _came another voice from the phone, a voice he recognized as Z's.

"Bridge….."

_"It's Megan…."_

"What about her?"

_"Well, it's kind of a long story….but she and Sam said they wanted to play hide and seek, and, well…."_

Chase was at a stoplight and for a moment he swore he saw something move in the rearview mirror. He just shook his head, knowing very well he wasn't just seeing things. He didn't even need Bridge to go any further to get where his young green friend was going with this. "I see. Well, thanks for the update. I'll be sure to take care of it. Later, Bridge…."

About twenty minutes later Chase pulled into a drive-through; he stopped to order what he wanted. "Yeah. I like a double cheeseburger, with large fries and a chocolate milkshake."

_"Is there anything else you'd like, sir?"_

Chase looked over his shoulder into the back seat of the truck where his bags and a few blankets were, along with a couple other things that he hadn't brought along. "What about you two, you want something to eat?" Slowly two bodies began to emerge from under the blankets and bags.

"I told you this was a bad idea!" exclaimed Sam, as he glanced over at Megan, who just glared at him with a dirty look.

* * *

Sky walked down the hallway of the SPD Academy, having just left Bridge's room after his conversation with Jack. Though it did help a little to know about what might have caused Chase's behavior during the battle, that didn't help much with everything else that was bothering him. He had his own problems. And they weren't exactly things you could talk about to just anyone. A part of him felt like calling Eric, but with everything that had happened these past few days and even weeks he couldn't get past his pride to make that phone call, especially when he would have to bring up his recent suspension. The last thing he wanted now was a _talk_ from Eric about that.

He tried his best to ignore the stares from several of the cadets who were standing in the halls. Most of them were on duty, while the rest were the remainder of the school-age cadets who had decided to remain at the academy during their vacation. It felt strange to walk through this academy, he felt naked without his morpher and blaster, out of place, like he didn't belong here. And then the feeling in the back of his mind that he had let everyone down, it was the one thing he hated the most. He had worked so hard to make it to Red Ranger and then in one moment he had lost control of his emotions and lashed out.

"Hey there, stranger," smiled Syd as she walked up to him happily. She was a little surprised to see him here, after what had happened between him and Cruger. She would have thought that Sky would stay away for a few days and cool down. "What are you doing here?"

"Just needed to clear my head."

"I take it Chase was still at the apartment."

"Yeah…." he answered dryly. "So, how's everything going on here? Z and you handling things okay?"

"Things are going good. B Squad's improving. Won't be long until we have new Rangers. You and Chase have done a good job with them." She knew this was hard for him. He hated not being able to do anything but sit back and wait until his suspension was over. "And Z's out patrolling right now. I guess she got a call from Bridge to go to your apartment."

"What's Bridge doing at my apartment?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "All I heard was something about keeping an eye on Megan and Sam. I guess Chase was leaving this afternoon to go on some trip. Didn't know when you'd show back up."

"And he thought leaving Bridge in charge was a good thing?" Bridge was more of a big kid than a babysitter and could easily be swindled by any grand schemes that Megan and Sam could come up with.

"Don't ask me, I'm just the messenger."

Sky sighed heavily. "I better go check up on them."

"Okay." She looked at him, a little concerned as she kissed him on the cheek. "You okay, Sky? I mean … I know this is difficult for you…"

"Don't worry about me." He paused for a moment, not wanting to sound mean. He knew she was just looking out for him, like any good girlfriend would. "You have enough things to worry about trying to keep things from falling apart here."

"You'll be back here before you know it."

"Yeah…." he answered softly.

* * *

Chase had set the truck into auto-drive so that he and the kids could eat their burgers. He hadn't really said much to the two since he had ordered the burgers from the fast food joint. He hadn't been counting on having anyone tag along with him, yet he should have known that Megan was planning something. Once that girl got something in her head, there was little to stop it. And it does help to have a best friend that can just so happen to teleport.

"You going to send us back home?" asked Megan, as she glanced over at Chase, finally breaking the silence. She could handle him being angry and upset with her, but the one thing she couldn't stand was silence.

"No. I would just send you guys back home on a bus, but I don't really trust you to stay on route."

"I could always teleport us back home," announced Sam, as he finished off his fries.

While that was another possible option, it wasn't one that Chase liked. "I don't think that's a good idea. You're still learning how to advance your powers. It's too risky." Sam was still young and while he was good at getting from point A to point B short-range, there was a big difference between that and jumping between states. He had already driven through a couple thanks to the high-tech SPD truck. Sam could end up teleporting himself and Megan anywhere, like the edge of a cliff. "You're safer with me…"

"So then, where are we going?"

"I told you, to see Rose White."

Megan rolled her eyes; the one thing that she did hate about Chase was he could be short with his answers. "I was referring more to a location." She crossed her arms against her chest, looking him right in the eye, playing his game. "You might as well tell us now; we'll find out sooner or later."

She was right; he might as well tell them. "We're going to Massachusetts, Cambridge to be exact." He set the truck off of auto-drive and took back control. "Now buckle up, we're in for a long drive."

"Cambridge?" Megan thought about it for a minute. "Hey, my grandparents live there."

"Perfect. I'll have some place to drop you two off."

"Me and my big mouth."

"Speaking of your big mouth." Chase reached for his cellphone and tossed it to Megan. "Call your parents and tell them what's going on and then give me the phone."

"Why? Don't you trust me?" Megan smiled mischievously.

"We snunk into his truck, what do you think?" exclaimed Sam.

After a quick call to Megan's parents and Chase talking to her mother, telling her that it was no problem, plans were set for the three to stay at Hayley's parents' house while Chase took care of some business. So all Chase had to do now was get the three of them there safely, which shouldn't be a problem, provided that Megan behaved herself.

"So who is this Rose White anyways? Is she family or something? I thought you came from Mirinoi?' asked Sam. Megan had gotten him into this mess and he wanted to at least know why they were going all the way to Massachusetts.

"I don't know. Maybe."

"But wouldn't your family be on Mirinoi?" asked Sam, still not seeing a connection.

Chase bit his lip, though it was known by all who had known him on Mirinoi. It was not something that he had told anyone here about, he wasn't even sure if Cruger knew. This kind of information would not be found in his file at the academy. "I was raised on Mirinoi, but I was born here on Earth."

"What?' Megan about jumped from her seat. This was the first time she had heard this; all this time she had thought that Chase was a Mirinoian, when in reality he was an Earthling just like her and Sam. "But…."

"About a week or so after I was born my parents left with Terra Venture." He was just a little baby during the voyage, traveling through space, and several months later they landed upon Mirinoi, their new home. _His _home. It was the place he had grown up. The place where he had made friends. The place where he fell in love with the woman of his dreams and would later propose to her. It had been the place where his parents had died. And the place where he had buried the woman he loved along with the many friends he lost that dreadful day on Gamma 4.

And now thinking about it, he missed that place. It was all he had ever known, though it was much emptier now, with the people he had lost. He missed it. Not being able to visit the graves of his loved ones was painful and difficult, but he knew they were with him in his heart. They would never truly leave him.

"Is there anything else about you that we don't know?" asked Megan. All this time she had thought his biggest secret had been what had happened to Callie and the rest of his team, back when he had worked under Commander Colbert. And now she found out that at one time, for however short it was, Earth had been his home. She was beginning to wonder what else he could be hiding and why had he not mentioned anything about this before.

Chase didn't answer. He wasn't ready to talk about all of his past just yet, he wasn't even too sure of it himself. That was why he had to see this Rose White; she would have the answers he needed. Whoever she was to him. "Why don't you guys take a nap, it's going to be a while until we're at your grandparents."

* * *

"Where's Megan?" asked Sky as he walked into his apartment to find Bridge sitting on the couch reading a science magazine.

"Ah well…" Bridge set down his magazine, knowing very well that Sky wouldn't be too happy with the answer, and the last thing he wanted to do was upset an already upset Sky. "She kind of went with Chase to Massachusetts."

"What do you mean, _kind of_?" asked Sky, as he stood over Bridge eyeing him with that hard crushing look of his.

"When I say kind of, I mean….. she really wasn't supposed to. And when I say she wasn't supposed to, I mean she tricked me, and…."

"Bridge!" exclaimed Sky, seeing that this was going to go into a long drawn out explanation.

"Sorry."

Sky just shook his head and sat down on the couch next to Bridge. "So where's Z?"

"Oh, she left a little while ago, to go back on her rounds. She said after she was finished she'd drop by and take me back to the academy."

"Oh. Well I have my car here, so I can give you a lift back there."

"You sure?" Bridge turned to him. "I don't want to be any trouble."

"No. It's no problem." Sky stood up from the couch and handed Bridge his crutches that were lying on the floor. "It's not like I have anything else to do."

* * *

Kat and Boom were in the lab still researching the results they had from the creatures that had attacked the Rangers. So much was still unknown about them and how they were able to hide themsevles from the Rangers.

"It doesn't make any sense, Kat," sighed Boom as he turned to her while she worked at her computer. "The only one that had the kind of power to generate creeatures like that was Omni, and he was killed. Thanks to Sky, Eric Myers and… Commander Collins…" He stopped short at mentioning Sky's dead father. No one was really sure just how Wes had shown up. Had it been just his spirit, a ghost, or was it something else?

Kat knew Boom was right; Omni had been the only one that they knew of with such power that could mimic creatures and place them anywhere he chose, dangerous enough to even kill. So if Omni was dead, who else could it be? Who else had this kind of power? "I don't know, Boom." She looked up at him from her computer screen. "But we have to find out. Whoever this is, is still out there and I have a feeling he won't stop until he gets what he wants." But she was no closer to gathering any more information than she had started with; everything they had come up with was dead ends. No one they had on file seemed to match what they had gathered from Bridge's description of the creatures. And then, as if a light bulb had gone off in her head-- "….Maybe we're going about this all the wrong way?"

"Wh-what do you mean?" asked Boom, as he joined her.

"We know that Omni had this kind of power…"

"Okay…." Boom wasn't sure where she was going with this, they had already established that this had Omni written all over it, but Omni was dead. They knew that for a fact.

"I think that Omni may be a key piece here."

"But he's dead, Kat…. We saw the explosion."

"Omni may be dead, but maybe he had left someone behind…."

"Like a son?"

"Maybe." She eyed him. "Or maybe he had a brother or someone else related to him, that we don't know about." It was possible, Omni was a very myserious creature, who not even Cruger himself knew everything about.

"But…but…but..."

"I want you to start running DNA traces in the system, see if anyone we have on file matches Omni…" It was a long shot, but for now it was the only thing they had to go on, but for all she knew they might not even have anyone on file that matched Omni's DNA and if they didn't, they would be back where they started from. With nothing.

* * *

Chase was asleep at the wheel, letting the truck drive itself through the night. He was jerking slightly in his sleep, whimpering silently. His restlessness woke Megan from her deep sleep in the back seat. She turned to Sam who was fast alseep, nothing could wake him up. Megan climbed into the passenger's seat and began to shake Chase, trying to wake him up and get him out of his nightmare.

"Chase, wake up." She gently jerked his shoulder. "It's only a dream."

It took a few tugs, but slowly he opened his eyes and turned to meet hers, yawning slightly. "Megan?" He was a little disoriented, not remembering where he was or why Megan was with him. It took him a few moments to gather in his surroundings.

"You were having a nightmare."

"Oh, sorry if I woke you up." He ran his hand down his face, getting the sleep out of his eyes.

"It's okay." She couldn't help but look into his eyes. Something so sad about them, it was something she would occasionally see in Sky, but Sky would always hide it. Chase on the other hand was different; he didn't hide the sadness in his eyes. "You okay?"

"You know your sensibility throws people off, with your mischievous behavior."

"Well, what can I say, I'm a teenage girl. It's in my nature."

That got a smile and a laugh out of him. "That it is." He looked at the time on his cellphone; it was two in the morning. "You really should get some sleep."

"….Chase, is your nightmare the reason why you froze during the battle?"

The question had come out of nowhere, so that Chase had little time to react to it. He just sighed heavily and answered, "Yeah. I guess it was." Cruger had said he needed to talk to someone about it if he wouldn't discuss it with him. And since Megan already knew most of what had happened that caused his nightmares - though she was young she was someone he felt confortable talking to. "Once the fire started… I kept reliving it over and over. I couldn't snap out of it." It wasn't something he should be ashamed of, it was very common, many solders who had been through horrific battles and watched as their comrades died had been known to have such experiences happen to them.

"Maybe if you told Sky? He'd understand…."

If only it were that simple. Sure he could tell Sky, but other things had arisen to cause problems between him and his teammate. "Unfortunately there's a lot more going on between Sky and me than what happened." He bowed his head down and bit his lip. "I said some inappropriate things to him about his relationship with Syd, among a few other things."

"….Well, Sky has never been one to get along with easily."

"You two seem to do okay, other than the occasional brother-sister type rivalry."

"I guess." She shrugged her shoulders. "….We really don't know each other too well."

"What do you mean? I thought…."

"When Sky's grandfather died and my parents got guardianship of him, they hadn't seen him in years. I guess he resented them." Though she had been young back then, she did remember a few details about what had gone on. "He got early enrollment at the academy and ended up staying there the whole time." She turned to Chase. "We never saw him. He never wanted to come and visit and he didn't want us to." She leaned into the back of her seat. "I guess he wanted to be alone."

Chase was beginning to see a reason to why Sky was the way he was. Why he seemed to keep others at a distance and rarely ever talked about his feelings; it was all he had ever really known. "But he did end up changing his mind. I mean…."

"Yeah. I mean, after the whole ordeal with Gruumm, he and my dad talked. Sky ended up coming home with us for a couple of weeks and things seemed to be going fine, but then after his talk with his Uncle Drake..." She turned to Chase. "I don't know, after that, slowly things just started to fall apart and it feels like things are going back to what they used to be, only worse."

"And you still don't know what this Drake said to him?"

"No. I tried asking my parents a few times, but they won't tell me."

Though her parents might have good reason, he couldn't imagine that it couldn't be something for her ears. What could there possibly be about Sky that Megan's parents wouldn't want her to know? She was going to the same academy that he worked at and lived in an apartment under his watch on weekends. So what could they be hiding about Sky? But having witnessed Sky's odd behavior, he knew something was up with him. He couldn't even begin to come up with an answer, other than Sky's tragic life of losing both his parents and grandfather, at such a tender time of growing up. "I'm sure that when they think you're ready to hear it, they'll tell you."

That was something Megan has been telling herself over and over, but for some reason she felt that even when the time did come when she could handle it, she wasn't so sure her parents would tell her. It was like it was the deepest of all gravest secrets, that could never be told. But what could be so secret about Sky, that no one, not even she could know about? "Maybe."


	15. The Journary Part 2

"We're here," announced Chase as they pulled into Megan's grandparent's driveway. It was a beautiful two story home, with a small garden going around the house. It was the same home Megan's mother Hayley had grown up in when she was a little girl.

Megan spotted her grandparents waiting outside for them. The minute Chase put the truck into park she was out the door running over to meet them. It had been a good six months since she had last seen them face to face. "Grandma! Grandpa!"

"Oh, Megan, it's so good to see you," exclaimed her grandpa, Kenneth Walker, as he wrapped his strong arms around his granddaughter. He might be in his late sixties, but he was still strong enough to lift his first born grandchild from the ground.

Donna Walker followed her husband's lead and hugged her granddaughter and then took a moment, gazing into the young girl's face and seeing her own daughter in her, as she was when Hayley had been a young girl. "You're looking more like your mother everyday."

"But with a bit of Eric, in the eyes…" winked her grandfather.

Donna then spotted a young red haired boy, about Megan's age, who she knew right away was Sam. On several occasions when she had called to talk with Hayley, both she and Eric had brought up the young redhead who had befriended their little girl. They had told her he was a good kid who had somewhat of a tough upbringing after losing his mother and then his father taking off, but now the young boy was slowly developing a relationship with his father who had abandoned him years ago. She then turned to the next young man, who had gotten more than he bargained for out of this trip. Hayley hadn't told her a great deal about Chase, other than he was the lieutenant blue Ranger at SPD and Sky's roommate, and had developed a strong bond with Megan. "Megan, your mother forgot to mention how handsome your friends were."

"Grandma…" muttered Megan, blushing a little. If her parents didn't embarrass her, her grandmother definitely would. Though she would never admit it out loud she did consider Sam good looking, and then there was no denying that she found Chase attractive, but she knew it couldn't go any further than that.

"Now, now dear." Kenneth came up from behind his wife and gripped her shoulder. "We don't want to scare these two fine men away, especially after their long trip." Kenneth walked up to Chase. "Traffic wasn't too bad, now was it?"

"No. Smooth sailing all the way through, but thank you for asking, Mr. Walker."

"Please, call me Kenneth." He put out his hand. "Mr. Walker makes me sound old."

Chase chuckled. "All right. Kenneth it is."

"Come inside, I'm sure you're all very hungry after your long trip. I have cookies and sandwiches inside," announced Donna, as she motioned them inside.

"Cool! I'm starving," exclaimed Sam, as he ran inside with Megan following behind him. Donna smiled as she followed the young teens into her home, happy that she would have a chance to spoil one of her grandchildren.

"I hope that it isn't any trouble, me staying here," said Chase, as he got his bag out of the truck. "I could always stay at a motel."

"Nonsense, we have plenty of room here," said Kenneth, as he welcomed Chase into his house and showed him into one of the spare bedrooms. "Besides, it's the least we can do after the little stunt those two pulled on you." Kenneth knew enough to know that his granddaughter wasn't a sweet innocent angel all the time; she was a sweet kid, but did have a devious mischievous side that was always looking for trouble, but he loved her for it.

"Thank you." Chase was extremely grateful; he had never really experienced grandparents. When his parents had left for Terra Venture, their parents had died years ago; he never got to have grandparents. "I really appreciate it."

"It's no trouble." He gripped the young man's shoulder. "We're happy to have you three stay here, until you've taken care of what you need to do."

Chase nodded his head and set his bag onto the bed. And for the first time he was actually happy that Megan and Sam had decided to tag along. It made him feel not so alone; he felt safe. A feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. He didn't know why all of a sudden he felt that, but he was glad he did. Which made the feeling that even if he didn't find what he was looking for, he would at least have people that he could go to which would be a lot better than some small motel room all alone.

"Come on, let's go see if the kids left us any sandwiches."

"Sounds good."

* * *

"Sky!" yelled Cruger down the hall, just moments ago he had turned down the hallway and had seen Sky walking down it, completely ignoring his calls. "Schuyler Tate!" he roared, this time calling his arrogant lieutenant by his full name.

"What?" Sky forced himself to turn around to face Cruger, one of the last people he wanted to be running into right now. The last couple of days had been hell for him, just sitting around doing nothing, bored to death. He, Bridge and Jack had hung out a couple of time during the day, but the only ones who seemed to be enjoying themselves were those two, joking around doing nothing. He hated not being where the action was, training with the B squad and the simulator. "You going to ban me from the base too? I'm tired of sitting back and doing nothing!"

"Perhaps you should have thought of that before you decided to let things get out of hand between you and Lt. Ryder." Cruger eyed Sky, letting his young cadet know just who was the superior officer here.

"He started it…."

"And you ended it!" remarked Cruger harshly. "You are the leader, Sky; I expect more from you. You are not a child any more and I can't have your childish behavior disrupting the team, that is why I suspended you." He looked Sky hard in the eyes, as he gave him an irritated glance in return. "That, and you need a serious attitude adjustment."

Sky made no attempt to answer, knowing that anything that came out of his mouth could be hazardous to his future at SPD. Something he didn't want to ruin. This was his life; it was the only thing that was _real_ to him. Everything else felt just like one big lie. If he lost SPD, his life might as well be over, nothing else would matter.

Cruger for months now had been sensing that something was wrong with Sky, more than normal. His behavior as of late was unpredictable, there was no telling what Sky would do next. And he had never been one to be very good at showing his emotions or expressing himself. "Do you need to talk, Sky ….as a friend?"

"We have never been that _chummy_ with each other, so why start now….."

"I know. There's a strong line between a commander and his cadets, but I think we've known each other long enough to get past that." He had known Sky for a good many years, watching him grow into the strong athletic man he was today, and despite their rocky relationship, he had hoped that if Sky ever needed to talk about something he would come to him.

"I _don't_ need to talk to you, sir." Sky widened his eyes. "About anything. I'm fine. I can handle my problems, on my own," with that said, Sky turned around and started back down the hallway.

"If you are looking for something to do, some of the youth cadets need an instructor for self-defense class, if you're interested. It starts in ten minutes in bay room C-305." He wasn't sure if Sky would do it, he had never been one who liked to work with the youngsters who were too young to be placed on a squad.

Sky stopped for a moment, as if he were considering the proposition, but he made no attempt to turn around and face Cruger, or even to give him a response. After a moment he picked up his pace and made a left at the hallway.

"Still having problems with our _esteemed _leader?" asked Kat, as she walked up behind Cruger, just barely missing Sky as he turned at the end of the hall.

"Hopefully not," sighed Cruger as he turned to face her. "We need him. His team is going to need him." Sky was a very important asset to the team, and without him fully focused he knew the team would fall apart. "….Have you and Boom been able to find a match?"

"We're still searching, but we should find one soon….." She bit her lip. "I was going to call someone on it, but wanted to check with you."

"What is it?

"I thought if I could get a good description of what Omni looked like before his body was destroyed, that would help with finding out if there is a link with someone else, but only two people have ever seen his original form." She eyed him. "And one of them is dead."

"You want to call Eric Myers."

"Yes…."

"I don't see a problem with it. He may be able to provide some useful information." Back when they had _first_ defeated Omni, it hadn't been important to take down a description, as everyone believed that Omni was gone for good, but they had been wrong. So wrong…..

Kat nodded her head. "What should I tell him about Sky, if he asks?" And she was using that _if_ very leniently, knowing very well that at some point in their conversation Eric would most definitely bring up Sky.

He wasn't sure if Eric had been talking with Sky, but the one thing he was one hundred percent sure of was that Sky had not told Eric about being suspended. It wouldn't be the type of thing Sky would bring up openly, not when his pride was concerned. And though a part of him felt like it should be told to Eric, Sky wasn't a child anymore and therefore he was no longer under obligation to provide such information. "Tell him that Sky has been his usual charming self."

"So you want me to lie?" she exclaimed flatly.

"No. Just not to disclose anything that would cause a rise out of Sky. He has to be the one to tell Eric, not us."

"That's easier said then done," answered Kat.

**A couple of hours later…..**

Sky didn't know why he had ended up here; the last thing he wanted to do was work with little kids that were less than half his age. Most of them were right in that eight, nine, and seven year old age range. A lot of the kids hadn't left to go on home vacation with their families, because they really didn't have any. Most of them were orphans or had come from abusive homes and were placed here at the academy. A similar situation that Sam had been in, until Cruger got in touch with his father and talked some sense into the guy.

"Lt. Tate, can you show us the move again?" asked Willie, who was sort of the team leader out of the group of five, being older, even if it was just by a few months, than Kit and Julie. The two youngest were Ali and Eli, a twin girl and boy whose parents had died suddenly having been the twins' only living relatives.

"It's getting a little late." Sky looked at his watch, seeing they had been at this two hours, and typically a self-defense class for the younglings shouldn't go past an hour and a half. "Aren't you guys getting tired?"

"No…." They all shook their heads, looking up at him all wide eyed, as if they worshiped the ground he walked on.

"We want you to teach us some more…." Kit exclaimed. "Please!"

"Yeah. You're our hero…." Eli added. "At least mine anyways….. I hope some day to be big and strong like you."

Sky was more than a little taken aback. The last thing he was expecting was for the kids to praise him in any way, let alone call him their hero. Most of the older cadets lately just seemed to look down upon him whereas the kids didn't seem to care that he had screwed up, they liked him anyways. The longer he stared into their faces, the more he saw that look in their eyes. It was a look he hadn't seen in a very long time. It had been the same way he used to look at his father, back when he had praised the ground his father walked on. And now they were doing the same thing with him, but at the moment he didn't feel like a hero. He had lost respect from Cruger and several of the other cadets, he had lost his morpher, everything that made him a hero he had lost.

He sighed heavily as he licked his lips. "We already went over. You guys should really go and relax in the kid's lounge or go play outside."

"Ah but…." started Julie, not wanting their time to be over.

"No buts." Sky eyed the five. "That's an order."

'Yes, sir," saluted Willie, motioning to his friends to do the same. The other four soon followed straight after him in saluting Sky.

Sky saluted back to them, giving them a nod and a light smile. "You guys did very well today."

"Lt. Tate, sir…." Ali slowly walked up to him, looking up at him with her bright green eyes. "Will you come back and teach us again sometime?" she asked while the others, all but her brother, left the room.

Sky didn't know what to say. This wasn't exactly the kind of thing he dreamed about himself doing, teaching little kids, and he felt that in some way his talents were being wasted doing this low grade type stuff. But the more he looked into her eyes, he couldn't bring himself to say no. "We'll see…" He gently patted her on the head, but she surprised the hell out of him as she threw her arms around him. Slightly caught off guard Sky gently returned the embrace but only with a light touch, not really comfortable with the whole thing. He then spotted Syd entering into the room, with a bright smile on her face. Sky pulled away from Ali. "I'll see you later, Ali."

"Okay!" Ali's eyes lit up as she danced over to her brother Eli who was waiting by the door for her. The two waved to Syd and were on their way.

"Don't even say it," Sky retorted with a firm look in his eyes, seeing that look in Syd's eyes.

"What?" She smiled back at him. "You were good with them. The kids really look up to you."

"Yeah. I'm a _great_ guy to be looking up to…."

"Sky. Don't be like this." She gently gripped his shoulder looking into his distant blue eyes. "They don't care about all that. They just like you, for _you_, not for what you are." Sky turned his head away, but only for Syd to gently force it back. "Don't you remember how you felt about your father, when you were their age?"

"My _father_ has nothing to do with this."

Syd's eyes widened, never in all the time she had known Sky had he ever talked about his father in that way. He had always talked up about his father, but now it seemed he was talking down about him and she couldn't figure out why. "Did something happen, Sky?"

He closed his eyes, turning his head away as he took a deep breath. He didn't mean to make it sound that way, but with everything that had been going on he just seemed to be getting more and more frustrated. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that." He sighed heavily as he looked into her eyes. "I guess… I just don't understand why they look up to me so much."

"I do." She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. "You're a great guy, Sky, Ranger powers or not. You care about SPD." She looked deeper into his eyes. "And even though you won't admit it, you care a lot about those kids." She kissed him lightly on the lips, just wanting to have a moment with him until she had to get back to work.

* * *

Chase tossed and turned violently in his sleep; in his disruptive sleep of an ongoing nightmare. He kicked the sheets off of the bed. His heart pounded against his chest rapidly, sweat covered his terrified face. And as always he would wake up instantly having once again relived a moment he wished he could forget. But for nearly a year he had not been able to shake this dream off.

"Ah man…" He ran his hand over his damp face and hair and turned to the clock. It read 6:00 AM. He got up out of the bed and grabbed a pair of his pants that he had thrown over the chair and headed out of the room, wanting to get some fresh air, hoping that it would calm him down.

Outside of the Walkers' home he leaned against the fence that went around the back deck. He closed his eyes, just wanting to feel as the cool breeze hit his face. It made him feel peaceful, a feeling he needed to have after the nightmare he had just had, and then watching as the morning sun lit up the sky. It was so beautiful and in a way reminded him of home.

_BEEP…. BEEP…_

Chase dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small looking beeper with a screen on it; it almost looked like a cellphone. His eyes widened when he read the name on the screen. _Do you accept transmission from Michael Colbert Sr.? _It had been close to four months since he had last talked to Michael Colbert Sr., or anyone for that matter from Mirinoi. Taking a deep breath, Chase accepted the transmission and as soon as he did Mike Colbert, his former Commander, appeared on the screen.

_"Chase, I hope I didn't wake you?"_

"No. I got up a little while ago…"

_"…..So how've you been?"_ asked Mike, feeling a little uneasy. For two people who had once been close, almost like father and son, it seemed now as if they were strangers to each other.

"I've been good. How about you and everyone else?"

_"Haley and I are doing fine. Mikey's doing great, you trained him well…." _He paused for a moment. _"Have you been able to locate them, yet?"_

"Not yet, but I should hopefully know more today."

_"I do hope you find them, Chase. I really do."_

"Thank you…"

Back in the house Megan slept on the top bunk of another spare room her grandparents had, the room she and her brother and sister usually slept in. Sam was fast asleep on the bottom bunk. Slowly she stirred awake, from the light sound of footsteps from outside. She lifted herself up and stared out the window, to find Chase walking around, much like she had when the two had first met, after he had had a nightmare.

She had come to get used to waking up in the middle of the night hearing Chase's soft whimpers, and then every morning during breakfast he would have this restless look on his face, like he hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. She watched as he walked farther into the yard, a part of her wanted to go after him, make sure he was all right, but she knew that Chase liked to be alone for a while after he woke up from his nightmares, so she laid back down on the bed to get a few more hours of sleep.

**Some hours later….**

Chase walked up to the front door of a nice looking home, a garden going all around it, a small pool could be seen in the back yard. His heart pounded against his chest, he wasn't sure what to expect out of all this, not sure what could happen. All he knew was that this was something he needed to do. No matter what. He slowly raised his hand to ring the doorbell twice, and after doing so he stepped back and waited. About a minute later the front door opened to reveal a young woman who looked to be in her late forties. "Can I help you, young man?"

"Um….Is this the right address for Rose White?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes, it is," the woman answered. "Why do you ask?"

"I really need to talk to her. I think she may be the only one who can help me…."

The woman's face saddened. "I'm sorry, but my mother passed away almost three years ago…."

"Oh….um… I'm sorry to have bothered you, ma'am." Chase started down the stairs with his head hung low, all his hopes shot down in one instant.

"Wait…." the woman called after him, as she headed towards his truck which he was already getting into. "You were one of hers, weren't you?"

"I….I….I don't know. All I know is she was the only one who may have been able to give me some answers."

"I don't really know what the protocol is about these things. My mother never could discuss her work, but maybe you can find your answers at this address." She smiled faintly as she told him the address. "Hopefully someone there can help you."

"Thank you." Chase returned the smile, grateful for her help.

* * *

"There he is," exclaimed Megan as she and Sam ducked behind a postal mailbox across the street from a building where Chase had parked the truck. After breakfast the two had gone off in search for him; all Megan's grandparents had said was that he had left early in the morning and said he'd be back later in the afternoon. So Megan had told them that she and Sam were going to go for a bike ride, but had actually gone in search of Chase, using Sam's ability. The two had ended up here, near Chase, all Sam had done was think of Chase and here they were. "I wonder what he's doing here?" she asked, this was not exactly the place she was expecting to find him.

"Megan, maybe we should head back to your grandparents', if Chase wanted us to come he would have asked us."

"He may need our help." She started to stand up the moment she saw him walk inside. "Come on…"

"But…." Sam watched as she started to cross the street. "Megan!"

Chase walked up to the front desk, where an older woman was working. She looked up from the computer. "Can I help you, young man?"

"I hope so." He bit his lips. "I'm trying to find out who I am. I need you to pull up Rose White's files…."

"I am sorry sir, but I can't do that. Those files are confidential …."

"Yes, I know, and I understand that. I work in a field that deals with classified and confidential files, but I really need you to pull them up and see if I'm on there," he pleaded, knowing this was his last and final hope. "I have to know. There is no one else who can help me…."

The older woman, though sympathetic with his situation, smiled faintly. "I'm sorry, sir. But those are the rules, I can't provide you with confidential information."

Hidden behind the doorway both Megan and Sam watched as Chase tried to plead his case again, but the woman was unwilling to back down. "See, he needs our help!" Megan announced firmly to Sam. She then spotted the back room window; through the windows she could tell the room was empty and it had a computer. "Sam, teleport us in that back room."

"What?" Sam followed her gaze and his eyes widened, knowing very well what she was up to. "No way! We could get into a whole lot of trouble if someone caught us."

"We won't get caught. I just need to get onto that computer and find what Chase wants."

'We don't even know what he's looking for!"

"It has something to do with Rose White, we'll start with that." She turned to him. "Now do it!"

"I'm so going to regret this," sighed Sam, as he grabbed a hold of her hand and the two teleported away.

"I am very sorry, Mr. Ryder, and I'm sorry to hear about your situation, but those are the rules. I could lose my job over this…."

"I…." Chase's eyes widened as he saw both Megan and Sam appear in the back room through the windows. _Oh shit….You two are so DEAD!_

"Is there a problem, sir?" asked the woman, as she started to turn her head around to see what he was staring at.

"Ah no…." Wanting to keep her attention, and hoping that Megan and Sam would get their butts out of there. "I just wanted to apologize; I know you're just trying to do your job…."

"Hurry up Megan, before someone sees us," exclaimed Sam, feeling as his heart pounded against his chest, knowing that any moment that door could open and it would all be over.

"Just chill out, Sammy," answered Megan as she typed away with her sweaty palms on the keyboard, using her hacking skills. She brought up a search. "All right, Rose White…." A set of files came up, Megan once again did a search, but this time putting in Chase Ryder's name. Once that was done only one file came up. "Got yah!"

"Okay. Okay. Hurry and print it out!"

Back in the main room, Chase watched as both Megan and Sam disappeared out of the room. He let out a sigh of relief and could bring some ease to his heart pounding against his chest. "Thank you for your help anyway." Chase bid the woman farewell and started outside.

Outside, Chase turned the corner to find Megan and Sam waiting for him. "What the hell do you think you two were doing? Do you realize what could have happened if someone saw you, how much trouble you would be in?"

"We were just trying to help. That woman wasn't going to provide you with the information."

"So you thought you'd take matters into your own hands and use your computer hacking skills and get it illegally."

"Ah guys…." started Sam, as he read over the sheets that Megan had printed out.

"It's not like it hurt anyone…."

"And what if someone walked in?"

"Sam would have teleported us out before anyone could get to us."

"Sam isn't always going to be around to get you out of trouble, one day you will get caught."

"GUYS!" exclaimed Sam, trying to get their attention.

"What!" they both turned to him.

"You might want to look at this." Sam held out the paper, giving a wide-eyed grin to Megan.

Megan just gave him a dirty look and yanked the sheets away from him. She read over the papers and her eyes widened. She couldn't believe it, her heart pounded against her chest. She looked up to Chase. "Your….."


	16. Too Much to Deal

"You're……" Her eyes widened as she stared up at Chase, in somewhat of a new light. She couldn't believe it, she was in shock. Never in her whole life would she ever have thought of something like this.

"Adopted," Chase finished for her, seeing how that could come to a shock to her, but he really didn't think it was that much of a big deal. "It's not really _that_ big of a deal." recalling back to the first day they had met when he had told her that there was nothing wrong with being adopted, after she had told him that her parents had become Sky's guardians after his grandfather had passed away.

"No… I mean….." She didn't know where to start, with so many questions running through her mind, most of which Chase would be unable to answer for her.

Sam couldn't stop laughing his guts out. "I still can't believe it. And to think that you-"

"Shut-up, Sam." Megan elbowed him in the gut, not finding it very amusing. Not at all.

"Okay." Chase stared at the two with a blank look, not seeing where this was going. "You two lost me. If you're not shocked that I'm adopted then what is it?"

"You going to tell him?" asked Sam, staring at Megan who was still clutching tightly to the sheet of paper.

"Tell me what?" Chase turned to Megan, his face very serious. "What is it, Megan?" He was almost frightened now. What could be on that piece of paper that Megan was having a difficult time trying to tell him?

Megan took a deep breath and licked her lips and she handed him the piece of paper. "I think…..I think that you may be…..' she stared up at him having a difficult time getting the words out. "My brother….."

"Brother….." Chase stared at her in shock, not being able to believe it. He quickly took the piece of paper from her and read it over, and as far as he could tell Megan had good reason to believe the two of them might be brother and sister. It listed Hayley Walker as the birth mother, and then he saw his adoptive parents' names, Paul and Carrie Ryder, and near the bottom was Rose White's signature. The only space that was blank was biological father, which was listed as unknown. "Do you know for sure?" he asked, looking back at Megan. "I mean, it could be a hundred other Hayley Walkers."

"No." She shook her head, shrugging her shoulders, having no idea what to think. "I don't know for sure; this is the first time I have ever heard about this. If you are my brother, my mom has never mentioned you before." If this was true and Chase was her brother, why hadn't her mother ever said anything about it? When she had Sam had decided to tag along with Chase in search of his past, this had been the furthest thing from her mind of what they would find. She would never in a million years have suspected that Chase might be her brother. As far as she had known for the last fourteen years she was her mother's first born, the oldest. "…..There's one way to know for sure." She paused for a moment, knowing that all of this must be even more shocking to Chase. "We can go ask my grandparents…"

Ever since he had learned the truth the night his mother had died, telling him that he had been adopted, he had dreamed of this moment of being reunited with his birth family. Now that he was this close, he wasn't so sure any more. What if they were wrong and it wasn't Megan's mother, what if it was someone else, but the thing that scared him more than anything, was what if they were right? And this whole time, what he had been looking for ever since he had arrived on Earth, had been under his nose this whole time. It seemed almost too easy, too good to be true.

"Chase?" Megan searched his face, trying to gain back his attention. "Do you want to go ask them?"

He turned to meet her. He had often wondered why the two of them had always seemed to have a connection with each other, the way he felt drawn to her, how easy it seemed to talk to her. And now he might know the reason why. "Yeah. Let's go talk to them."

* * *

Eric was working in the office at Bio-lab, going over some paperwork of new developments and making sure everything was in order. Though he missed being in the action, he felt proud of the work he had done here. Both he and Mike Zaskin had done a lot of good work here since taking over the company, and he was sure Hayley was happy for that, especially after his little relapse all those months ago when he had become the Quantum Ranger once again.

_"Mr. Myers, Commander Cruger of the SPD Academy is here to see you, is it all right if I send him in…..?" _

Eric slowly reached his finger to the intercom, not knowing what to think. It wasn't like Cruger to make house calls unannounced. And though the two had settled their differences, they weren't buddy-buddy enough for him to just drop on by to say hi. "You may send him in, Maggie, thank you."

A few seconds later Cruger entered the room. Eric was about to get up when Cruger waved for him to sit back down. "Please, no need to get up."

Eric nodded his head and sat back down, motioning for Cruger to take a seat in one of the chairs across from the desk. "So, to what do I owe this visit?" Knowing very well there had to be a reason and he wasn't one to just beat around the bush, he was going to cut straight to the chase.

"Kat was going to call you about this, but….." After his talk with Kat and then again later that night with his wife, who had convinced him that it was time to bring Eric into the situation, seeing as how he had been unable to resolve anything. "I thought it would be best if I came in person."

"Okay…." Eric leaned back against his chair. "I'm not going to like what you have to tell me, am I?"

"No, I'm afraid not. I'm afraid things took a turn for the worse and maybe you can enlighten me as to why."

Eric crossed his hands together, sighing heavily, knowing very well this had to do with Sky. Sky was the only connection the two shared with each other. "What'd he do this time?"

"Enough for me to have to suspend him."

"What?" Eric couldn't believe what he was hearing. The last thing he would ever expect from Sky was for him to get himself in enough trouble that he would have to be suspended. "You can't be serious."

"I'm dead serious. That boy is out of control." Cruger was being very firm about this, needing Eric to take this very seriously.

_Boy!_ Eric narrowed his eyes, not liking that comment."He's not a child! He's twenty-one, that's hardly a child."

"He's acting like a child!" Cruger had expected for Eric to overreact. He knew how defensive Eric was of Sky, which is why he knew that it was better to come and do this in person. "A grown man does not disrupt and start fights while teaching a class of future Rangers."

"What…." That just didn't sound like Sky, sure he had a temper, but disrupting his class, that just didn't sound like him. "Sky wouldn't do that; maybe it was a misunderstanding."

"No! I saw it happen with my own two eyes, along with several cadets and the other Rangers." Cruger sighed heavily, knowing that it was difficult for Eric to believe that Sky would do such a thing. "Look I understand this isn't easy for you, but I saw Sky punch Chase. The two had been at each others throats, and on top of that Sky's behavior has been unbearable as of late."

"His behavior has always been like that, why such a problem with it now?" It was no secret that Sky had had some behavior issues and a quick temper in the past, but Eric wasn't liking Cruger's quick jumping accusations that Sky was out of control.

"Because he is the leader and I expect my leaders to have respect for me and their teammates." Cruger took a moment to calm his voice down, knowing that if it rose, he and Eric would only end up arguing even more. "And as of lately, his moods are worse than normal. Before I could tolerate it, but now I can't. Not when it could jeopardize the team." He looked Eric hard in the eyes and leaned closer. "Now you can either tell me what you know, or….."

"Or what?" he demanded, as he stared him down. If there was one thing that he hated it was to be threatened, especially if that person was Cruger.

"I did not come here to start an argument with you. You are just as paranoid and stubborn-assed as he is." He had come here out of concern for Sky and knew that the only person that might have a chance at getting through to him was the man he was sitting across from. "Sky _is_ in trouble, Eric, and I fear if something isn't done soon that it will be the end of him. I am scared for him…" He cleared his throat. "And if you can get that past your thick arrogant skull and listen to me, you will know I am right about this."

Eric's heart skipped a beat and he was sure his face turned white as a ghost. Cruger had never been the type to show concern like this and that scared Eric, because if Cruger was scared for Sky's life, then this was something big. He sighed heavily, as he leaned back against his chair, sliding down a little. ….He had been afraid this would happen…

"You know what's been bothering him, don't you?"

Eric didn't answer; this wasn't the time or the place for him to be having this conversation with Cruger. He ran his hand over his face, trying to avoid Cruger just a bit longer.

* * *

Megan's grandparents stared at the three, not sure what to say, but they needed to say something. The silence was more than enough to prove what they had learned was indeed true. Her mother had had a baby years before she was born and had given him up for adoption.

"So, it's true then…. I'm him…." Chase licked his lips, looking into 'his' grandparent's eyes, wanting to at least hear it with his own ears just once.

"Yes. I believe so," answered Kenneth Walker, as he stared into his eldest grandson's eyes, the last time being when he took him out of his daughter's arms and handed him over to Rose White. "Rose White was the woman who helped us with the adoption process. She had told us she found a good family for you."

"She did. They were very good to me." He wanted to make sure they knew that. He didn't want them or Hayley to feel guilty about giving him up, deep down he knew it had to be the hardest thing they ever had to do. "So please don't feel bad, you did the right thing by me and your daughter."

It made both Donna and Kenneth happy and warm hearted to hear that, because for the last twenty-two years they had always wondered if they had made the right decision. There was always talk about them adopting him, but fearing that at some point it might put a strain on their relationship with their daughter, they had all thought it would be best to place Chase with another family. "Thank you. I've needed to hear that for a long, long time," cried Donna as she hugged him.

Chase wrapped his arms tightly around his grandmother and though he knew it would be a long road ahead of him no matter what happened, he was glad he finally knew who his birth family was. He felt like he had been given a second chance at having a family. The two slowly pulled away and Chase looked into her eyes, with only one more question lingering in his mind. "There's just one thing I have to ask…"

"What is it, sweetie…"

"And it's okay if you don't know, but…." He needed to know, there was still one missing piece that he needed an answer to. "Do you know who my father was?"

Both Donna and Kenneth shared a glance with each other, neither one sure how to go about answering that question, especially with the presence of Megan and Sam in the room. This had not been the way either one of them wanted Megan to find out about her mother's past.

Megan had been standing next to Sam taking all of this in. Her eyes suddenly widened and a look of shock came over her face. Why she hadn't thought about it before, she didn't know. She stepped forward to face her grandparents. "….It's Uncle Tommy, isn't it? He and Mom have always been so close…."

There would be no fooling Megan; they couldn't deny anything to her. She was smart like her mother and as stubborn as her father that she wouldn't back down, not even for a second. The two had no choice but to reveal what Megan already knew. "Yes, Megan. Tommy is Chase's father," announced her grandfather. For a long time the two had resented Tommy, feeling that he had abandoned their daughter in a time of need, but over the years the two had slowly started to like him and could see that he was a good guy. He had always been so caring with their grandchildren, and if it hadn't been for him, his daughter's marriage may not have lasted.

That had been the one thing that Chase never in a million trillion years would have ever thought. He knew very well that Megan's Uncle Tommy was no ordinary Uncle Tommy. He was Tommy Oliver, a name he had heard before, back at both academies he had attended. He was a legend and now he was much more than a legend…. "Tommy Oliver is my father….."

* * *

Cruger had had enough of Eric silence and determination to keep silent about Sky's private life. "What is it? What is wrong with him? He was fine when he left to go home with you, but when he came back, that's when everything started to change."

Eric bit his lip. "It's complicated."

"Complicated? What could be so complicated that…." Then Cruger's eyes widened; only one thing about Sky could be _that_ complicated. After all these years, he had almost forgotten the little bit of information Andros had told him so long ago. "You told him, didn't you, the truth about everything?"

"How the hell-"

"Andros informed me of Sky's situation, when he was just a boy."

Eric rubbed the back of his neck, remembering that both he and Wes had in fact told Andros how Sky had just shown up. It wasn't like they could have made up some story for him, as they had with the rest of the world. "I should have known he would have said something."

"You should know, that was as far as it went. I never spoke of it again." Cruger crossed his hands together. "But I should have been informed of this. You should have brought it to my attention that Sky now knows."

"It didn't concern you," Eric remarked sharply.

"Didn't concern me?" Cruger questioned him. "I would have you know that anything that has to do with Sky concerns me greatly."

Eric raised his head, not liking where this was going. He and Cruger might have settle their differences, but that did not mean that he agreed with everything the old dog had to say. He would not let Cruger think that Sky was just some kind of pawn, for him to bark orders at and do with as he wished. "Look, first off I didn't even know that Andros told you. Second, not everything about Sky's life has to be known by you. He may be one of your Rangers and officers, but that is where the line is drawn."

"Perhaps, but when his problems outside the academy disrupt his performance and rank," he looked Eric hard in the eyes and firmly continued, "That _does_ concern me."

Eric clenched his fists together, even still today the two clashed and it wasn't on a subject that Eric was comfortable discussing. He was too emotionally involved when it came to Sky. "….Was there anything else you needed or was this it?"

"You need to get in touch with Kat for the rest. She'll fill you in." Cruger could see there would be no getting further with Eric, not with Eric too quick to jump to Sky's defense. "I'll see myself out."

"Good. Don't let the door hit you on your way out." Eric watched as Cruger left the room, shutting the door behind him. He slammed his fist against his desk, nearly knocking over a stack of files. "Damnit!" He was at a loss of what to do, as much as he hated to admit it. He knew Cruger was right, Sky was in trouble, had been for months. The signs were all there, he hadn't been returning his phone calls, and then Megan was trying to leave little hints that something wasn't right with Sky. He just didn't know what to do or say. What was there he could say?

He rubbed his temple, trying to relieve some of the stress and frustration when his cellphone began to ring. "Hello…" he answered dryly into it. "Megan? …….Honey, slow down." Her voice was sounding so rushed and upset that he had to bring it away from his ear and put it on speaker phone. "Okay, can you say that again, what about your mom and Tommy?"

_"Did you know they had a kid together...?"_

Eric's eyes widened and his heart nearly skipped a beat. "Wh-where'd you hear that from? Did your grandparents tell you that?"

_"They didn't tell me exactly…. But you did know…."_

"Only fairly recently, your mom came out and told me. We were planning on telling you and your brother and sister when the time was right." It was the type of thing that needed to be explained carefully, especially with little Wes, who might be a little young to understand. "….Wait a minute, you said they didn't tell you exactly, what does that mean?"

_"Don't get mad, but I sort of found out on my own, with Sam…."_

Eric rolled his eyes, knowing very well that whenever anyone starts a sentence with 'don't get mad', it wasn't a good thing. "How do you sort of find out about something like this, or don't I want to know, because it could involve a potential criminal record?"

_"Well, no one saw us if that makes you happy. Chase was there, but he had nothing to do with this, well he sort of does, but not with what Sam and I were doing, but then it kind of…."_

Too much information was coming out of her mouth for him to register and his head was already pumped full of stuff about Sky's situation. "Megan, my head is really spinning here and I'm on the verge of a major headache, so if you could just cut to the chase…."

_"Chase….Dad, Chase is Mom's and Tommy's son."_

"What?" That he wasn't expecting to hear, on top of everything else that had happened today. "Chase, as in Chase Ryder, blue Ranger, Sky's roommate Chase?"

_"Yes…What other Chase would it be?"_

_Great. Just great. It just had to be Chase, didn't it…._ Eric rubbed his head, feeling as his headache started to come on. "Megan honey, you wouldn't happen to know if Sky and Chase might have gotten into a little fight, by any chance now, would you?"

_"…..Ah…fight…I… I got to go, Dad, bye."_

Megan's quick hang-up made it clear to Eric that it must have been more than just a little fight that had happened between Sky and Chase. And now the revelation that Chase was Hayley's son would make things with Sky even more difficult than before. "Now I know why they stop at one." Eric half looked up. "Anything else you like to throw at me today?"

* * *

"I miss you already," smiled Z, as she hugged Jack goodbye. "Be sure to tell Ally hi, and that I can't wait for all of us to be together."

"I will be sure to pass that along." Jack kissed her on the cheek and then went about to say goodbye to the rest of his former teammates.

The gang had all gone out that night, one last time, because Jack was catching a plane that night and meeting up with Ally to help distribute clothes and food to those less fortunate. "I'll call you when I land." Jack stepped away from Z and faced Bridge; he grabbed a hold of Bridge's shoulder, gripping it. "And you, my friend, heal that leg up quick, because I know these guys could sure use your help."

"Oh, I'm fairly sure I'll be healed up pretty soon," Bridge answered with a smile. Working at the SPD Academy did have its advantages, being tight-knit with the medical developments. "And thanks for staying at the dorm with me, it was like old times."

"Well, it was a blast. It was kind of nice to be back in the old place again." Jack patted Bridge on the back and made his way over to Syd, who was looking prettier than ever, all dressed up for their night out, probably trying to get all nice for Sky. "You know Syd, if I wasn't in a happily committed relationship..." He grinned, jokingly checking her out. "…Because you are looking _fine_ tonight." He glanced over at Sky, to see his reaction, but of course Sky was just being typical Sky and not showing much of a reaction other than a hard stone cold glance.

"Well, thank you Jack, but I'm afraid I've only got eyes for one." Syd took hold of Sky's hand and squeezed it gently.

"Yeah. I thought so." Jack smiled and leaned in to hug her. He whispered into her ear, "Just promise me you'll loosen him up a little."

Syd wrapped her arms around Jack. She really had missed him, he was always the fun loving guy that she would every so often flirt around with, but nothing serious. "Take care of yourself, Jack."

"Always do." Jack smiled and then turned to Sky, who had been standing all reserved and laid back. Out of the four, Jack knew Sky was the one who hated goodbyes, but would never let on to that fact. "So I guess this is it, for now anyways…."

"Appears so."

"Try to think about what I said, about working things out with Chase. Because we both know from experience that the whole fighting thing doesn't do so well." Sky didn't answer back, not really wanted to comment on anything dealing with Chase just yet. Jack bit his lip and glanced over at Syd and the others, who were standing only a few feet away. "Just promise me that you'll take care of the team, no matter what."

"That I can do."

And Jack knew that Sky would; even back when they had been having their problems Sky always cared about the team. "And one more thing." He looked Sky hard in the eyes. "Be good with Syd, because she really, and I mean really, loves you." While he was sure of Syd's love for Sky, he was unsure about Sky, who was very difficult to read.

"….I will," answered Sky. With that said the two hugged goodbye, before Jack hopped into the taxi to head to the airport. The four watched as their former leader rode off into the night. Syd wrapped her arms around Sky and kissed him gently on the cheek.

"Stay at your place tonight?"

Sky moved her into his arms and smiled, as he leaned in to ghost a kiss on her lips. "Yeah. That sounds nice."

* * *

"Chase?" Hayley looked at Eric, not so sure if she was ready to believe it herself, as if she were afraid to get her hopes up. "Are you sure?" Eric had gotten home late and had found both her and Tommy sitting out on the back deck with their dog Rex sleeping at their feet.

"Yeah." Eric licked his lips, as he stared the two in the eyes, knowing that while this was good news for them, it was a lot to take in. And he hadn't even told them the half of it. The part that dealt with Sky would have to be discussed another time; for now he would let his wife and friend settle in on the news of the discovery of their son. "Your parents confirmed it."

"Does explain why you weren't able to find him," exclaimed Tommy as he turned to Hayley, knowing this had to come to a shock to her, especially since months before she had met Chase, not even knowing that he was her son. "He had been living on Mirinoi all that time." Even he himself was having some difficulty taking it all in, years ago he had worked with Leo, even took him back to Mirinoi after they had defeated the remaining rebels of the Machine Empire. Back then Chase would have been around three. He even remembered that day when they brought Leo back, that a whole crowd of people had been there cheering them on for their victory, several of them had been children and now he came to find out that one of them had been his son.

"Hayley." Eric sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah." She smiled, as a few tears fell from her eyes. "I know who my son is." She turned to Tommy and smiled. "Our son."

It was difficult for Eric to watch, for two very good reasons: one, who couldn't help but feel a bit jealous and maybe even envious; and then he knew sooner or later he would have to tell Hayley what was going on with Sky and how Chase fit in somewhere with Sky's issues, but for now he wouldn't take away her happiness at being able to get a second chance with the child she had given up many years ago.


	17. The Discovery

"Hey." Megan walked up behind Chase who was sitting out back. She sat down next to him. "Missed you last night." After everything coming out about Chase being her brother and everything else that came along with it, Chase had taken off and she hadn't seen him until she woke up that morning and saw him out the window.

"Yeah. Sorry about that." He turned to her and smiled. "I just needed to clear my head."

"Are we going to be okay?" she asked, as she looked into his eyes. She was afraid that things would change between them and she didn't want them to, she didn't want to lose her friend, or for that matter, her brother.

"Are you kidding?" He grinned. "We're better than okay." He wrapped his arm around her. "I just found out you're my sister; there's no way you're going to get rid of me that easily." He bit his lips. "Besides, how many people are willing to put up with you?"

"Watch it!" She playfully elbowed him in the stomach.

"Sorry." He grinned. "….But it's just going to be so fun when we get back to the academy, when I tell the cadets that my little sister had a crush on me," recalling that when the two first met that she had developed a crush on him.

"_Had_ being the key word." She gave him a dirty look as she crossed her arms against her chest. "And in my defense, I didn't know you were my brother."

"You got me there." He really wasn't going to tell any of the cadets about the small crush she had once had on him. He just liked to rattle her cage a little, have a little sister-brother rivalry. He had already missed fourteen years; he had a lot of catching up to do. "So where is our Sammy?"

"Oh, he's helping Grandpa move some boxes in the attic."

"Sounds like hard work," grinned Chase, knowing very well that moving a few boxes was nothing much for their young red-haired friend to handle. A few moments passed and Chase turned his head to stare off at the horizon, watching birds fly into the distance, feeling the sun hit his face.

"….Something else on your mind?"

"Hmmm…." Chase bit his lip. "Just thinking what it will be like…"

"To meet them?"

Chase turned his head and nodded. "Yeah. I mean I already met your mom, so it's going to be a little strange having met her already but not knowing at the time, but it's not her I'm concerned about." He bowed his head down, sighing, the moment he had learned that Tommy Oliver was his father was what had caused him to take off on his own that night, needing some space to himself.

"You're worried about meeting Tommy?" asked Megan. Though she knew it was going to be odd for Chase meeting his birth parents and he had every right to be nervous. She knew he really didn't have to be, both her mother and uncle were great people, who she loved to death. Chase had nothing to worry about; they were going to love him. "He's a real good guy. You'll like him…"

"No." He turned to her. "It's not that. I know that he's a really great guy."

"Then, what is it?" she asked, a little confused as to why Chase was acting so strangely.

"Do you remember when I told you how I decided to become part of SPD, to become a Ranger?"

"Yeah…Oh…." Now understanding. Chase had told her a long time ago that what had driven him to the life of a Ranger was indeed Tommy Oliver, after hearing about the mission on the moon with several other red Rangers, two of whom included her father and Uncle Wes. "He was the reason you trained to become a Ranger."

"Like father, like son." He wasn't upset that Tommy was his father; ever since he was a little boy he had worked hard every day to be just like him. He had sworn to himself the day he had become a Ranger that he would live up to one of the greatest Rangers that ever lived. Anyone in his position would be thrilled to find out that such a man was their father. "I just never thought in all my wildest dreams that my hero would turn out to be my father."

And now Megan understood what the problem was: it wasn't the knowing or even meeting that scared Chase. It was the living up to. Ever since Chase had been a boy, he had idolized one of the most powerful Rangers there ever had been. Tommy had been his childhood hero, the reason behind his training. And now twenty-two years later, he found out that that man, his hero, was his father. Megan reached to grip his wrist. "You know, I happen to be the daughter of a former Power Ranger." She smiled at him. "They're just like any other dad, they don't expect you to live up to their Ranger standards." She bit her lip. "In fact my dad probably would prefer I don't become one."

"….But it's in your blood."

"Yeah. I guess it is." Ever since she could walk and talk, she knew that she wanted to be like her father, follow in his footsteps. She just hoped that she would be half as good a Ranger as he was, when and if that day ever came.

Chase smiled. He didn't know what would happen or what the future would hold for him with his birth family. He knew what would happen, would happen, so there was no reason for him to worry or put too much thought into it. Right now he was just thankful he had Megan and had developed a relationship with her, one he would always be grateful for. Not only was she his sister, but she was his best friend. "….So how do you think Sky will take the news?" Knowing that sooner rather than later they were going to have to tell him.

"Ah, um… We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." She eyed him. Though she was ecstatic, she had known Sky long enough to know he hated having news like this sprung on him. And with him and Chase not exactly being on good terms, she just wasn't sure how Sky would react. Not to mention the fact that her father had been asking her questions about Sky and Chase; she knew Cruger must have spoken to him about what had been going on with Sky lately and if that ever got back to Sky, she knew all hell would break loose.

* * *

Sky woke to find Syd sitting on his bed, buttoning up her blouse. He turned his head towards his nightstand to look at the clock; it was six in the morning. After Jack's goodbye hang out the two had departed, leaving their other two friends behind, and headed back here to have some time alone together. With Cruger working the girls so hard, they hadn't really had much time to be alone together the last couple of days.

"Morning." Sky sat up in bed, leaning his back against his headboard.

"Hey, you." Syd smiled as she turned towards him and crawled into his lap and planted a kiss onto his lips. "Hope I didn't wake you, we kind of had a late night last night," referring to the events that had taken place moments after they entered the apartment.

"No. You didn't wake me." Sky wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him for a few moments before letting her go to finish getting ready. "I am a little surprised that you're up so early though, usually it's me that's up bright and early."

"Yeah. Well I still need to head back to my apartment, take a shower and change into my uniform before heading to the Academy," she exclaimed as she hopped off his lap and onto the floor. The moment her feet hit the floor her body swayed a little, causing her to lose her balance; luckily Sky jumped to his feet and caught her.

"You okay?' he asked, as he helped her back to the bed, sitting her down, and sat down next to her putting one arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah." She turned to him, slightly confused as to why that had happened. None of them had drunk last night, the only one who was legal was Sky and being the way he was, playing by the rules, he wouldn't drink when he was around them, knowing that the last thing they needed was for Cruger to be on their case for underage drinking. "Just a little dizzy is all." She started to lift herself up, intended to finish up here and head back to her apartment so she could get ready for work. "I'm fine. Really," she assured him. But again, she lost her balance and Sky caught her.

"You sure about that?" He eyed her.

"I'm probably just a little tired is all, we were up late and I have been working a lot of hours…"

"Which is why you're going back to bed," Sky announced firmly as he forced her back down on the bed, pulling the covers over her.

"Sky, I have to be at work in an hour…."

"I was planning on going in anyways and working. I'll explain to Cruger why you aren't there." And then thinking about it for a moment and knowing very well that Cruger wouldn't approve of that being a reason for Syd's absence. "…..But leaving out a few minor details."

"Try not to argue with him today."

"I'll do my best." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "Now get some rest. I'm going to take a shower and head to the academy."

"Okay…." Syd smiled faintly, watching as Sky left the room, closing the door behind him. She yawned heavily as she felt sleep take her over; maybe she was just tired after all. She had been working a lot harder than normal. So there was nothing to worry about.

Fifteen minutes later Sky returned to his bedroom to find Syd fast asleep. A part of him was feeling guilty; she had been overworked this past week due to his bad behavior and actions that caused Cruger to suspend him. Deep down, as hard as it was for him to admit, he knew he was the team leader and should have handled things better with Chase. He smiled faintly, watching her for a moment, before getting into his uniform. Before he headed out of the room, he did a double check of Syd to make sure she was okay. "I'll call you later," he whispered as he closed the door behind him quietly.

* * *

Kat and Boom were working in the lab; they had gone as far as they could trying to unravel just what had attacked the Rangers over a week ago and were waiting on a call from Eric to see if he could give them any information on Omni, who they believed might have some kind of link, but they would not know for sure until they spoke with him. So while they waited on his call they were gathering information, putting blueprints together of two Ranger morphers which would be developed in years to come. It still was just the beginning stages, but Kat was sure they would be a nice addition when they were ready.

"I still can't believe that we are putting together the blueprints for the Omega Ranger!" Boom exclaimed excitedly. "It just seems like yesterday that that he was still here fighting alongside the Rangers." But it had been several months since the Omega Ranger, who had turned out to be Sam, had come from the not so distant future to save them. "Do you think that when the morpher is ready, that Sam will get it?"

Right now Kat wasn't concerned as to who would get the morpher when it was completed. Though it had been Sam who had come from the future bearing the Omega morpher, that didn't necessarily mean that he would be the one to get it in the end. The timeline had changed; in the future that Sam had come from SPD had fallen, that hadn't happened. SPD was still standing. "That isn't up to me to decide, Boom." It would all come down to Cruger, who would make the final decision. She knew it would be a good few years before the morpher was ready for the testing stages, and in three years Sam would only be sixteen, a year younger than the age required to even be considered for the Ranger program.

"I know; I was just thinking it would be awesome if he would get it. Sam was a great Ranger."

"Yes, he was." Kat turned to Boom, but looked at him very seriously. "But remember, _that_ Sam came from a very different life than our Sam does. That Sam had lived in fear and hiding for years, he had to become the Ranger we saw otherwise he wouldn't have survived." She had seen a very different Sam than the small young boy who was in their care. He was driven, cocky and even at times a little arrogant, a very different picture than the young thirteen year old boy living in the academy.

Though he didn't want to, he had to agree. Sam would have a very different life now since the Sam from the future had changed history by coming here and preventing the fall of SPD. Since the future had changed, the morpher was fair game. It could end up going to any cadet who was ready to step up to the plate, that along with the Nova Morpher. They assumed who the Nova Ranger was now, months later, after seeing how quickly a friendship had developed between Sam and his new found friend who was just a year older than he was. But even so, the future always has a way of working things out. If the two were meant to become these Rangers, whether by Cruger's order or another's, they would be. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see then."

"Yes, we will." answered Kat. Not a moment later, Kat heard her cellphone ringing. She stepped away from the computer and answered it. "This is Dr. Manx."

_"Kat… It's Eric; Cruger said you needed to speak with me."_

"Yes. I do." She bit her lip, knowing that it might be difficult for Eric to talk about this, knowing that Omni was the one that had put out the hit on Wes. "And I know it may be difficult, but it's very important you tell me what you remember about the battle you and Wes had when you fought Omni." She paused for a moment, trying to get a sense of his reaction over the phone. "The Rangers' lives may depend on it in the future…."

_"…..Wh-what do you need to know about that night?"_ Though he had put Wes's death behind him, every so often he would find himself having difficulty talking about the battles he and Wes had fought side by side, especially this one. This was the one that would always come back to haunt him. Even more than the one that would be the last battle they would ever fight alongside each other.

"I need a clear description of Omni, whatever you can remember about what his appearance was before he lost his body." She knew that this would be a very hard thing to do, since that encounter was over ten years ago and it had been only that one time that Eric had ever come face to face with what Omni had really looked like. "We think that there may be a link somehow between Omni and what attacked the Rangers."

_"But Omni is dead…. It couldn't have been him."_

"We know." She licked her lips. "Which is why we think there may be another one out there like Omni, but without knowing what his true form had been, we haven't been able to get any information."

_"I don't remember much about what he looked like, it was dark and everything happened so fast. It never registered….."_ He cleared his throat, knowing that wouldn't help her cause. _"….The only thing I really remember was his dark glowing eyes, the way he could see right through you, knew everything about you…"_

"…Did you ever feel like that with anyone else you fought?"

Eric didn't answer right away, as if he was almost afraid to. _"……There was only one other I ever felt like that with. And I don't know why I didn't realize it until now…"_

Kat's eyes widened. She couldn't believe it, but the more she thought about it, the more it made perfect sense. "…They're brothers."

* * *

Commander Cruger was in the training room with ten members of the B squad, all of which had the potential to be considered for the Ranger program. He could tell that despite the issues that had gone on between Sky and Chase, the two had made an excellent team. All ten members showed promise, but in the end it would only come down to the five who would be moving up. He just hoped that Sky and Chase would work out their differences, along with Sky getting a handle on his own personal issues.

"Again!" Cruger ordered firmly, commanding them once more to go through a sequence of movements, a combination of punches, blocks and kicks, all that would become vital when and if they would be promoted to Ranger level. But already he could see leadership in two of the cadets; they would be most likely the ones moving up to the Ranger program, to see which one had what it took to be the red Ranger: Cadets Danny Rockford and Vick Harrison. Both of them had been at the academy just a year less then Sky and had worked very hard to get to this point in their careers, as for the other three he knew both Sky and Chase would have their work cut out for them.

"Good," he answered as they finished with their exercises and stood at attention, keeping their eyes locked on him. He could tell that they all had been questioning among themselves when their primary teachers would return to teach the class, but he knew they all knew better than to question him on anything, especially after his disciplinary action against Lt. Tate and Lt. Ryder. "All right, for the next….." His words were cut off by the sound of the training room door opening and echoing throughout the room.

"Sorry to interrupt your session with the cadets, but _certain_ information has been brought to my attention." She eyed him carefully, not wanting to alarm any of the cadets, knowing how fast rumors can spread throughout the academy.

"…..Cadet Harrison, please take over and follow through with drills seven and nine."

"Yes sir!" He saluted.

Cruger made his way over to Kat, while Cadet Harrison took his place and took over the class. "Okay, let's begin with drill seven!" announced Vick, as he eyed the cadets before him firmly.

Kat and Cruger had stepped outside of the room, so they would not disturb the class. Cruger could tell that Kat was very shaken up, something he had learned over the years to take very seriously. "What is it?"

"….Omni does have a brother." She paused a moment, looking him deep in the eyes. "It's Mirloc….."

"_What…._" Cruger's eyes widened, but the more he thought about it the more it did make sense. Omni had wanted revenge on Wesley Collins for destroying his body and had caused Gruumm to hire Mirloc. He should have been it before, why out of all the criminals had Omni wanted Mirloc? Now he knew why. "….You're sure?"

"Yes. The DNA sample we have of Mirloc and the one we got from Omni match." It hadn't been easy to do, but she had found enough evidence that the two were closely related, probably brothers, if not half.

"But it can't be Mirloc who attacked the Rangers. He's locked up," exclaimed Cruger. He had been the one to see Mirloc sent off to the special prison, a very dark and grim planet, a place no criminals would ever be able to escape from.

"Are you sure?" asked Kat, looking him in the eyes questioningly. "Mirloc has outmaneuvered us once before; he's crafty, if there was a way for him to escape he would have found it."

"….You're right." He hated to admit it, but she was right. Mirloc was one of the most crafty criminals they had ever been up against. "I will travel to the prison myself, make sure he's where he's supposed to be."

"Good…." But that didn't make Kat any more comfortable; in some ways she considered Mirloc to be worse then Gruumm. The way he had murdered Wes, used Sky's emotions against him and come close to destroying the Rangers.

Cruger could tell that she was not completely satisfied with what he planned to do. "Is something else bothering you?"

"….Look, I know that it is none of my business, but if Mirloc really got out," she looked him hard in the eyes, knowing she had to be very firm about this, "You know he'll be coming after _him_…."

"You are asking me to return Sky's morpher…"

"Yes…" She knew right away that he didn't like where she was going with this, but at the same time she knew that Sky would be in danger without his morpher with Mirloc lurking about. "I understand that you need to teach him a lesson, but his life could be in danger, Mirloc will stop at nothing to get him."

Cruger knew that to be true. Mirloc had already played Sky once before, to get to him. He even had to wonder whether when he had first sent Sky to go interrogate Mirloc about Slate, if Mirloc had known right from the start that the young cadet before him was the son of a Ranger he had killed years ago. The old Commander knew that if Mirloc had indeed escaped he would go after Sky, with the intentions of killing him just as he had Wes Collins. "I'll handle it in my own way, Dr. Manx," he answered. "Thank you for sharing your concern though, I will take it into consideration."

Kat knew what that meant. She crossed her arms against her chest. "You aren't going to tell him, are you?"

"There is nothing to tell."

"And if there was, you still wouldn't. He should know, that his life-"

"You and I both know that Sky wouldn't give a damn if his life was in danger. And in the light of his recent behavior I don't want to add more to it." He knew very well that if Sky knew that Mirloc was out and about, he'd go out like a madman hunting him down. "The less he knows the better."

"Yeah. Because it really worked out fine the last time…." she exclaimed giving him a hard glance before walking past him.

* * *

Sky was in the gym working out, trying to blow off some steam, for the last few hours. He had yet to cross paths with Cruger today, so he hadn't even been able to inform him of Syd's absence, but had run into both Bridge and Z at one point during the day. And had explained to the two that she wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be in. Bridge had seemed okay about the answer, Z on the other hand never said a word, but had given Sky a look that he hadn't been able to shake off.

After a long and hard workout kicking the snot out of the punching bag that hung from the wall, Sky made his way over to the drinking fountain to get a drink and splash some water into his face. When he looked up into the mirror to wipe the water away, he didn't see his reflection, but _another's_. "Hello Sky…. Have you missed me, because I've missed you. I've missed _our_ talks."

"What the hell…." Sky immediately turned around, expecting to be face to face with Mirloc, but his former foe wasn't there. Instead he had come face to face with Commander Cruger. Sky half looked around and even turned back to the mirror, but this time only saw his reflection. Mirloc was nowhere to be seen.

"Sky, are you all right?"

"I'm fine!" he answered. He hadn't meant to sound so defensive, but he didn't want to believe that he was going crazy and seeing things that shouldn't be there. "…..I just wasn't expecting you to be behind me, sir."

"I see."

"Was there something you needed, sir?"

"Yes, I haven't seen Officer Drew today, I was told that you could tell me of her whereabouts."

"She wasn't feeling well, so I told her to stay in bed."

"I see." Cruger knew that the relationship between Sky and Sydney had developed into something more than he would have ever suspected. "When you see her, tell her I hope that she feels better."

Sky nodded his head. "Well, if that's all, there were a few other things I needed to take care of." He started to walk past Cruger, but was stopped by the old dog pressing his hand firmly against Sky's shoulder.

"Sydney wasn't the only reason I came to see you."

"Okay. What is it?"

Though it was against his better judgment, he knew that for now given Kat's findings, that it was the best thing to do. Sky would never agree to protection of any form, unless it was him doing the protection for himself. Cruger dug into his back pocket and pulled out Sky's morpher and held it out.

That was something Sky hadn't been expecting. He still had a week of suspension left until he was supposed to get his morpher back. "What's going on? I thought-"

"You still are suspended, but you are available to me on active duty." He placed the morpher into Sky's hand. "But don't think this is it, I am returning your morpher to you on three conditions." He looked the young man in the eyes firmly. "The first condition is, you will be teaching that special defense class with the children. Second, you will continue to train with me in sword combat, and the third condition is, you are to straighten things out with Chase when he returns from his trip. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" Sky saluted him.

"Good. Meet me outside in one hour to begin our training." Cruger nodded his head and allowed Sky to depart from the gym. He just hoped that he had made the right decision in allowing Sky to have his morpher back early.

* * *

Sky entered into his apartment to be greeted by the smell of spaghetti sauce. He turned his head, and sure enough there was spaghetti cooking on the stove. Syd stood in front of it stirring the pan. He took off his uniform jacket and set it over the chair before heading over to her.

"What's this?"

She grinned. "It's dinner. What does it look like, silly?" She wrapped her arm around him, pulling him closer to her.

"I see that." He kissed her on the forehead. "But you didn't have to do that."

"I know. I wanted to do it, besides I was bored sitting around here waiting for you."

"You feeling better?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I'm fine, it probably was just a little bug." She moved her hands down to his waist and then felt something on his harness; she looked up at him with her questioning bright blue eyes. "Your morpher?"

"Yeah. Cruger gave it back to me today."

"Really?" She found that very odd. Cruger was usually very strict and hardly ever recanted on any punishment. "Did he say why?"

"No. I guess he realized I'm more useful with a morpher than without."

"Yeah. Probably…." Although she wasn't so sure that was the _real_ reason as to why Cruger returned the morpher to Sky. She knew that Cruger would have needed to have a very good reason to give it back.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, seeing a trace of concern come over her.

"No…." She smiled and stroked his cheek. "I'm just so happy that you got your morpher back." She leaned up and kissed him on the lips. "Now, why don't you go get cleaned up for dinner."

"Okay. I'll be back in a few." Sky released his hands from Syd and headed towards the bathroom.

Once inside, Sky turned on the faucet to wash his hands and face. He splashed his face with water and cleaned it with soap; he rinsed again with water and reached with his hand for a towel to dry it off. He then went to change out of his uniform into something a little more comfortable, knowing that if he didn't he wouldn't hear the end of it from Syd. Once he was finished he exited the bathroom to go have dinner with Syd, but unbeknown to him, dark flashing glowing eyes lurked about.

_"I'll be coming for you, Ranger….."_


	18. The Hunt

"Get up!" ordered Cruger as he stood above Sky, hovering his sword over the young man. "The moment you let down your guard, is the moment your enemy will strike." He knew if the information was true and Merloc was out, he needed to prepare Sky for what could be the battle of his life. Sky might be one of the best fighters the academy had, but with Merloc you can never be too careful. He was crafty, and would throw everything he had at Sky.

Sky pushed himself up to his feet from only moments ago being struck down by Cruger. The two had been training for the last couple of hours; every bone in his body ached, but he wasn't going to let that slow him down or stop him from proving to Cruger that he hadn't made a mistake appointing him red Ranger and that he deserved to gain the rank of Commander. He narrowed his eyes on Cruger, tightening his fingers around his sword. He started towards him, sword in hand ready to strike, but he faked Cruger out and jumped over the old SPD Commander. Once he was on his feet Sky flashed his sword towards Cruger's neck. He was more than satisfied with himself, feeling that he had finally gotten him. "Got you!"

"No. It is I that's got you!" Before Sky could even react Cruger swung his sword around full force, nailing Sky right in the chest, sending the young lieutenant to the ground and then in a quickly moment the old commander struck his sword down towards the ground, nearly brushing it against Sky's ear. Cruger hung over him, staring down at Sky; he sighed heavily as he shook his head. "Too much pride can be a bad thing, Sky. If you let it get in the way you will lose when you fight blindly." He held out his hand to help him up.

Time and time again, Cruger had struck him down. No matter what angle he came at the old dog, every time he was upper-handed and sent crashing to the ground. Sky sighed heavily as he took in a deep breath and clutched at his chest, still feeling the painful blows from Cruger's sword. He watched as Cruger bent down to pick up his sword. "We are done for today."

He wanted to say that he wasn't finished, that he could go on just a little longer, but he knew his attempts would be useless. When Cruger had made up his mind there was little anyone could do or say to change it. He was just going to have to wait until the next time they trained together, hoping that next time he finally would have the upper hand. "Yes sir." He saluted.

Cruger could tell that Sky was frustrated with himself and even at him. They had been having these training sessions together for a while now and every time he had been the victor. "You are a good fighter, Sky." He gripped his shoulder. "But there will always be someone better. You need to stay focused and alert at all times, never be over confident of what is in front of you." He didn't know if his words would mean anything to Sky; he had been saying them to him for years and it seemed he hadn't gotten totally through to him. Sky, though respectful, always had his own way of seeing things and didn't always like to agree with others. He was the kind of man that hated to be proven wrong. "You should go have yourself checked out by Dr. Manx…"

"I'm fine, sir," Sky responded firmly. He could take Cruger's lectures about fighting tactics, but anything having to deal with his health and wellbeing he didn't want to hear. He could take care of himself just fine, always had. "I can take it."

"That wasn't a request, Lt. Tate," Cruger announced firmly. "That was an order."

"…Yes sir." Sky once again saluted Cruger, before turning away and heading back inside the Academy.

Cruger knew this process was going to take a lot longer than he had wanted it to and he had a feeling that time might not be on their side. All he could hope for was that, when the time did come, Sky will be ready, because he knew he would never be able to forgive himself if what happened to Wes, happened to Sky.

* * *

Syd, Z and Bridge were in the common room, just hanging out from a long day at work. Syd and Z had taken the ten members of those that were in the Ranger program through a training course; while Bridge had hung back monitoring their performance from the satellite video feed. His leg was recovering well, but Kat said he still needed to stay off it for a couple more weeks, so he would have to refrain from any actual training. Not that he minded it much, he preferred to work with machines; he felt that his skills were better used there, but then again he would be happy to get back out there with his friends and train.

"So Bridge, how do you think the cadets did today?" asked Z, knowing very well that Bridge had used his ability to get a sense of the cadets' emotions, to see which ones had what it took to be a Ranger.

"I felt that all the cadets did very well." He hadn't picked up on anything disturbing that alarmed him in any way. "It's going to be a hard decision to choose which ones will become the new B Squad when it comes down to it." He was just grateful it wouldn't be his decision, but Sky's and Chase's; he never was one that liked to pick sides. If it were up to him, he'd let every one of the ten members become Rangers, but he knew that wouldn't be practical.

"You…..you didn't pick up anything else, did you?" asked Syd, a little concerned, as she turned to Bridge. Ever since Z and she had gotten back she had been pretty quiet, just staying to herself, and really had only spoken if someone said something to her.

"No." Bridge shook his head, not too sure what she was referring to. "Should I have?"

"No." Syd shook her head. "I was just curious if anything else was going on out there while we were on the course." She did appear somewhat relieved by what Bridge had said, but uncertainty was still on her face, as if she wasn't so sure his words were enough to bring some ease to her wondering mind.

Z just glared at Syd, questioning her, she was about to say something to her when they saw Sky walk past the room. "Syd…"

"….Oh, I'm going to go see Sky. See you guys later." Syd got up in a hurry from her seat and started for Sky, before Z could even finish what she was going to say.

"What do you think that was all about?"

"She said she was going to go catch up with Sky. I mean the two are a couple and it's only natural that she'd want to go see him, especially after a long exhausting day…."

"No, not that." Z turned to Bridge. For a pychic he could be totally lost sometimes, even with what was going on right in front of him. "I mean with what Syd asked you, if you picked up on anything else other than the cadets today."

"Oh. I don't know." Bridge shrugged his shoulders. "I really didn't know what she was referring to when she asked. I didn't sense anything out of the ordinary, everything seemed normal to me."

Z knew Bridge's ability could pick up on a lot of things, but even he missed a few things. He had missed sensing that Dru Harrington had betrayed them and even when Sky's body had been taken over by Wootox. So perhaps he wasn't picking up on what Syd was talking about. "…..You don't think…"

"Think what…" Not knowing at first what she was talking about, but the more he looked into her eyes, the more he understood what she was saying. "Oh…. I don't know. If she was….I would think I would pick up on something like that, ….but it probably would be easier to ask her."

"Don't even think about it." She glared at him. "If she wants to talk about it, she'll come to us, until then we just butt out of it."

"If you want us to butt out of it, then why were you just asking me all these questions….because that sort of reiterates what you said before and what you are saying now."

"Forget everything I just said, right now." Z, frustrated, threw up her hands and let out a heavy sigh. "You're impossible, you know that."

"You know, I've had a lot of people tell me that."

* * *

"Oh my god!" Syd rushed over to Sky as Kat wrapped up his bruised chest. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm fine, Syd," He assured her as Kat finished up bandaging his ribs. "It's not a big deal." The last thing he needed today was Sydney going all motherly over him, hovering over him like he was made of glass and could break at any second.

"Kat…" Syd looked to her for reassurance, knowing that her boyfriend was one of the most stubborn men on this planet and would say he was okay if he had taken a bullet to the shoulder.

"He's going to be just fine," Kat answered her. "Nothing a good night's sleep won't cure." She then went to tighten the bandage, wanting to make sure it was secure and wouldn't allow future damage. "Which means, Sky, no late night workouts tonight!"

"I can assure you that won't happen tonight," exclaimed Syd firmly, fully determined to make sure Sky did exactly what Kat told him to, even if she had to strap him down in bed.

"I am not a baby!" Sky exclaimed, getting up from his seat and grabbing his shirt and jacket. "I don't need someone to baby-sit me." Without another word Sky stormed out of the room.

"Guess he's having another bad day," sighed Sydney.

"He seems to be having a lot of them lately." Kat smiled faintly, knowing that this must be very difficult on Syd, maintaining a relationship with Sky with all the ups and downs and mood changes in his behavior. It would be a difficult task for anyone to deal with.

"Yeah…." answered Syd, who truly did want to be there for Sky, but at times he acted as though he would rather not have her around at all. Some days he would be fine and be the perfect boyfriend and then the next day, he was totally different. She sighed heavily; she wasn't sure what she was going to do.

"Are you okay, Sydney?" asked Kat, gripping her shoulder. "Things with you and Sky going okay?"

"Other than the fact that we're not the typical everyday couple?" A fact she was learning to be more true as more time passed by, they hadn't even been together a year and they'd already had all sorts of ups and downs. "….Things are great." But she didn't feel like things were great and from the way Kat looked at her, she knew Kat knew it too.

* * *

"I take it you had a good trip, Lt. Ryder?" announced Commander Cruger, as he greeted Chase in the docking garage. "Even with your little mishap." He glanced sharply over to Megan and Sam who were getting out of the back seat. Though he couldn't say much to Megan, he could say a handful of things to Sam, who was supposed to be staying at the academy and not on the road, but that would come later.

"Yes sir, it was a very good trip." It was better than he had hoped it would be. He has set out to find who his birth family was and that's just what he had found, though it had been staring him in the face the entire journey there.

"I take it you found what you were looking for?"

Chase nodded his head and glanced over at Megan, smiling back at her. "Yes sir."

"Good. I hope that this will help you through dealing with your personal issues."

Even though he had found his birth family, Chase still had one more thing that he needed to take care of and that was his personal issue from several months ago. He still couldn't shake off his nightmares from that day and though talking to Megan about it helped, it just wasn't enough. But he wasn't ready to bring that part of his life up, not even to his birth parents, not just yet.

Cruger sighed heavily, knowing that it would take time for Chase to totally open up to that part of his life, it has taken him many years to share that dreadful day when his planet had fallen and so many lives were lost. So he knew he had no right to push Chase into talking about it. "Well, if you have a minute there is something very important that I have to discuss with you." He glanced over at Sam and Megan. "Alone, if you would."

"Sure." Just by the way he had spoken it, Chase knew that this was very important, a life and death type situation. He turned to Megan. "Megan, why don't you help Sam back into the academy and I'll come and get you when we're done here."

"Okay."

A few minutes later Chase and Cruger were in the Command Base. Cruger had been very quiet from the walk from the docking garage to the Command Base. Truthfully there wasn't a whole lot he could say about the present situation, at least not until he had done his own investigation, and the fact was that he wanted to keep this just between them.

"Is everything okay, sir?" asked Chase, searching his Commander's face for answers.

The old dog sighed heavily; he wanted to say yes, that everything was okay and would stay that way, but even he wasn't sure. "I'm afraid we may have a problem on the rise."

"What sort of problem?"

"You have heard of Mirloc?"

"Yes." Chase nodded his head. Anyone throughout the galaxy, whether they had crossed paths with him or not, had heard of Mirloc at least once. He was one of the most crafty and devious criminals anyone could ever come up against. "He's the one that killed Sky's father."

Cruger nodded his head, putting his hands behind his back as he walked around the room. "Kat believes it may have been him that attacked you and the other Rangers at the warehouse."

Chase was stunned to say the least. "But I though Sky captured Mirloc months ago, sent him back to prison."

"That is what happened, yes." Sky had been the one to bring Mirloc in, feeling that it was his responsibility, since he felt responsible for Mirloc escaping and then feeling it was his duty to bring in the one who murdered his father all those years ago. "I will be heading to Varanox 12 in a couple of days, to make sure nothing is amiss."

"Okay, but I don't understand how-"

"There's something else…." He turned to face Chase, knowing that this would come as a shock to him, as it had to anyone who would have heard it. "Kat has discovered that Mirloc and Omni were brothers."

Chase could feel his heart stop dead. Though he had never faced Omni before, he knew that Omni had been one of the most powerful beings that SPD had ever come up against. "_Brothers…._" If they were really brothers, then Mirloc was even more powerful then they had ever realized. "….Have you told Sky?"

"No. And I don't intend to," he exclaimed. "Not until I know more." He eyed Chase sharply. "And until further notice I expect this to stay between us, is that understood?" He knew he was asking a lot of Chase right now, keeping something from his teammates, but at the moment he felt like it was the right thing to do, at least until he knew more information.

"I understand your orders, sir. But-" He didn't like keeping something like this from Sky, things were bad as it was between him and Sky. And this would only make things worse, if Sky ever found out.

"No buts, Lt. Ryder, those are my orders." He wasn't going to back down, not from this. Given Sky's history with Mirloc, he was afraid that Sky might take things into his own hands and forget all he had learned from SPD. He couldn't have one of his best officers out on a rampage. "As a precaution I have given Sky his morpher back." He reached into his pocket and handed Chase his morpher. "I need you to stay alert, be ready for anything."

Chase took back his Morpher. Though he didn't agree with Crugers orders, he had to respect them. "Yes sir." He saluted. He was about to head out to go meet up with Megan and take her back to the apartment.

"Lt. Ryder, I understand that you will be accompanying Miss Myers this week to her home in Reefside."

"Yes, I will." He turned to face Cruger. "Turns out she's my sister."

"Yes, I'm well aware of that. Her father told Dr. Manx, who then told me. I am truly happy for you."

"Thank you, sir."

Cruger nodded his head. "Please see to it that Sky goes along with you two, it will give Eric an opportunity to speak with Sky." He paused a for a moment, eyeing Chase. "…And for you to keep an eye on him."

Chase didn't like the way that last statement sounded, it was grim and worrisome. He knew then that the reason why Cruger wanted to leave Sky out of the loop for the moment was because the young leader's life could be in danger. "….I'll do my best, sir." He knew that once he and Megan broke the news to Sky, things could go either way from there, not knowing how he would react to the news of them being brother and sister.

Once Chase left the command center, Kat walked in and glued her eyes right on Cruger and crossed her arms against her chest.

"Don't even start, Kat."

"Can you at least tell me why you insist on using him as your own personal punching bag?"

"I am preparing him for his future."

"His future?" Kat just shook her head. "If you keep pushing him the way you are, he won't have a future."

"And if his attitude keeps up the way it is, it will get him killed. I need Sky to be ready. I need to know that when I leave here SPD will be in good hands."

"So that's what all this training and him teaching that special class has been about?"

"Sky still has a lot to learn; he's still under the impression that he deserves the spot of commander more than anyone else. I need him to show me that he's earned it."

"I understand what you are doing, but we both know that Sky can only take so much. He may be strong on the outside, but on the inside he is hurting a lot more than you and I can understand."

"Believe me, I know, a lot more than you think I do…."

* * *

Chase and Megan entered the apartment to find Sky doing a series of push-ups and appearing a little sore each time he went down. Chase walked past him and headed towards his room to put his bags away. Megan went over to greet Sky.

"Hey Sky." She then noticed that he was wearing his morpher on his belt. "Commander Cruger gave you your morpher back?"

"I didn't steal it, if that's what you think."

"Never said you did."

A second later Chase emerged from his bedroom and back to the main room of the apartment. He gripped Megan's shoulder, figuring that it would be better if they just came out and told him, rather than wait it out until he was in a better mood, considering in two days they were planning on heading to Reefside to spend a few days. "Sky…. We've got something we have to tell you."

"Okay." He jumped to his feet and brushed his hands off. "What is it?" He eyed the two.

"…..I'm adopted."

"So…." Sky wasn't seeing what that had to do with him or why it would even be important. "Your point is?"

He definitely wasn't going to make this easy, but then Sky never made anything easy on anyone. "Twenty years ago I was born on Earth. Not too long after that, my adoptive parents, the Ryder's, left with me for Terra Venture."

"Again, why would this be important to me?" He didn't have time to go down memory lane with Chase. He had more pressing things he needed to deal with than to hear all of this. Why would he care that Chase was adopted? What would it matter to him?

"Just tell him…." exclaimed Megan, knowing that Sky didn't care to hear every little detail.

Chase took a deep breath. "I went on my road trip to find out who my birth mother was." He licked his lips and stared into Sky's face. "I found out that my mother is _Hayley_…" He stopped searching Sky's face for a reaction.

Little emotion was shown on Sky's face; he put up that stone cold look. "….As in Megan's mom, Hayley?"

"Yeah." Chase nodded his head. Sky appeared to be taking it well, but he hadn't been expecting him to take it this well. Then again trying to read what Sky was thinking and feeling wasn't an easy task.

"That's great. I'm really happy for you guys…..Really. You two deserve each other..." Sky started towards the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go for a run…" Before anyone could say a word Sky was out the door. Chase and Megan shared a concerned glance. While Sky had acted happy at the news, they weren't so sure that was how he really felt about it.

* * *

Sky was out cruising on his bike, totally ignoring what Kat had told him about taking it easy for the rest of the night, but after everything that had happened lately and then getting the big blow about Megan and Chase, he just wanted to get away from everything and drive his bike as fast as he could go, just feeling the wind brush against his body and letting time pass him by, blocking everything else out. He wouldn't have to deal with anything, not his up and down relationship with Sky, not his issues with Cruger or anything else, nothing mattered. It was just him and the open road. But today was much different, he felt an overload of unresolved issues going through his mind that he has carried on his shoulders and that he had never really dealt with.

Maybe Cruger was right, maybe he had let his pride and stubbornness get in the way of doing his job, but he had been like this for such a long time that he didn't know any other way to be. Then there was his relationship with Syd, which was a whole other thing going on between them. He liked being with her, but at times she just drove him so crazy that he just didn't want to deal with her. He knew sooner or later he was going to have to, especially after how he had brushed her off today after she had been showing concern for him. He didn't know why he let that bother him so much, but for so long he had been taking care of himself, that perhaps he had forgotten what it meant for someone to show concern for him.

And now the lingering fact that Chase and Megan were brother and sister, he wasn't sure why he was letting that bother him so much. It wasn't like he cared if they were related or not. ….But then why was it bugging him so much?

_"Why so gloomy, Ranger….."_

"What?" Sky could have sworn he heard a voice, a voice that nearly sent a shiver down his spine, a voice that he never wanted to hear again for as long as he lived. Maybe he was just hearing things; he ignored it and pretended that it never happened, keeping his eyes solely focused on the road. And that's when he noticed the ugly purple face in the left side mirror. "What the…."

_"You are truly a pathetic worm, it's no wonder Cruger doesn't think you're worthy of being a commander…" _he sneered. _"It won't be long until he thinks you are no longer worthy of being the red Ranger."_

"Shut up! Get out of my head. You aren't really there." Sky turned his head, but only saw a truck driving behind him and no sign of the purplish threat.

_"Oh, but I am…." _The yellow eyes shined brightly as they flashed against Sky's helmet visor, blinding him. _"And just like your father, you will fail…."_

Blinded by the bright light, Sky swerved his bike all over the road until he sent it and himself rolling over a hill, but not before hitting the railing. Sky flew off his bike and hit the ground hard as he rolled down the hill. His body only stopped rolling when he hit a fence head first; luckily he was still wearing his helmet. He took a few deep breaths and felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder, his arm was hanging loosely. "Shit!" He yanked his helmet off with his right arm and tossed it to the ground, that's when he noticed his bike to his right side, all busted up from the fall.

On the top of the hill, he could see a few cars had stopped and people were looking down at him. He could just barely hear them call out to him, that help was on the way. Not exactly how he was planning to finish off the night, crashing his bike and then being rushed to the hospital. If he could help it that would be the very last place he would end up tonight. He turned towards his left shoulder and attempted to put it back in place. He screamed out loudly from the intense and sharp pain, as he popped his shoulder back in place.

A moment later he saw two paramedics rushing over to him, as he pushed himself up, leaning against a tree and holding his left arm tightly. "Are you all right, sir?" one of them asked, as he attempted to check Sky over.

"I'm fine!" Sky shoved him away. "It was just a little fall. I've had worse."

"You should at least let us take you to get the hospital, to have you checked out by a doctor."

"Thanks. No thanks." Sky then limped over to his bike to see if he could at least salvage what was left of it.

"Sir, you really should come with us, a report is going to be filed with the police and if we don't-"

"If you're worrying about the police report, don't." Sky turned to them. "I'm Lt. Tate of SPD, so I'll take care of writing the report and anything else you need in writing, so you don't get into any trouble." Sky just glared at them hard. What else did he have to say to get them to leave him alone? His physical training had prepared him to withstand falls such as these, he could handle it. "Got it?"

"Just sign here saying you refused treatment."

"Gladly..."

* * *

"….What the hell happened to you?" exclaimed Z. Just seconds ago she had heard a knock at the door, went to answer it, and found Sky half leaning against the wall and clutching his left shoulder.

"Are you going to just stand there or you going to let me in?"

Z stepped to the side so he could step inside; she watched as he limped towards the couch. "Do you need some…." All it took was one hard look from Sky. She put on a sarcastic smile. "Right, I forgot. _I'm Sky, big and strong. I don't need help…_" she mocked.

"Will you just stop it." He leaned against the couch, resting his head back, and he ran his hand over it. "I have a major headache and don't need to hear you mocking me."

Z went over to one of the kitchen cabinets and grabbed a container of aspirin along with a glass of water. She sat down next to Sky and started to hand him the glass of water and pills. "Mind telling me why you look like you ran into a wall?" Sky ignored her question and started to reach for the container of pills, but only to have them be pulled out of his reach. Z batted her eyes, letting him know she wasn't going to be nice until he told her what had happened. "I could do this all night if I have to."

Sky grumbled under his breath. He had known this would happen, but he'd rather run into Z than go back to his apartment and have to explain things to Chase and Megan, who probably would be far worse. Megan would immediately call her father about his little accident. "Fine! I got into a little accident with my bike." He snatched the container out of her hand and popped a few pills into his mouth and washed them down with some water.

"An accident?" She just looked at him, shaking her head. "Do I even want to ask how you got over here?"

"I got a ride with the towing company…."

"Towing company? Shouldn't you have gone to the hospital?"

"The paramedics let me go, I'm fine."

"Yeah. I bet." She reached over to tap on his left shoulder. "And I bet it doesn't hurt if I do this."

Sky's eyes just lit up as his face clenched and he stared her in the eyes. "….Don't do that…" He gritted his teeth.

That's when she noticed a small cut behind his ear, which probably had gotten cut by the helmet. "You're bleeding," she exclaimed as she stood up to go grab a cloth and some peroxide to clean it up. A few minutes later she was back and pressed the cloth to his cut. "Hold this to your ear…" she hissed at him, as she then went about cleaning up the other scrapes and scratches he had received. "You know you're unbelievable, you know that."

"Look, I didn't come here to get your criticism."

_Too bad…._ That's when Z realized why he had come to see her: he knew that Syd would still be on duty for another hour and that she just so happened to know a thing or two about cleaning up wounds. "Oh I see, you thought you'd come here so I would show you a few tricks of the trade I learned about cleaning up cuts from being the streets."

"….They weren't that bad. There was no point in me going to the hospital and spending a bunch of money on pointless tests."

"It's not like you can't afford it."

"Look, could you just finish up, I prefer to be all cleaned up before Syd gets home. Otherwise she'll be pissed…"

"Damn right she will be." In her anger she pressed a little hard on one of the scrapes on his knee and could feel as his body tensed up. "…Sorry." She smiled faintly as she gently cleaned it up.

"…It's okay." He paused for a moment. "….Thanks."

"You're welcome…." She was a little taken back by his gratitude, maybe there was a soft soul under all that stubborn manliness. After she was finished cleaning him up and putting away the cloths, she sat back down next to him on the couch. There was one thing she was curious about, about the accident. "…Sky, don't get mad." She watched as he turned to meet her. "But I've seen you drive a hundred times on your bike, you've never lost control." She bit her lip. "….Did something else happen?"

"…..No. Something probably was just wrong with the bike."

Though it was a reasonable explanation, Z wasn't so sure it was the right one. His eyes told a different story, something else had happened out there when he was driving, something worse, but she knew he wasn't about to let her in on what really had happened. A moment later the apartment door opened.

"Hey Z, I'm home." Syd set her keys and coat on the counter and turned around and found Z and Sky sitting on the couch. "Oh hi…" she said when her eyes met with Sky's.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone and go order some dinner." Z got up from the couch and Syd sat down next so Sky.

"Hey. I didn't know you were here, your bike wasn't out in the parking lot."

"It's in the shop getting some things done to it. I took a cab," he answered.

"Oh." She smiled as she looked into his eyes. "Look, I want to apologize about earlier. I know you can handle yourself and that I shouldn't always worry about you the way I do."

"It's okay." He wrapped his arm around her, drawing her closer to him. "I'm sorry too." He kissed her lightly on the forehead.

Syd ran her hand down his arm, then placed her hand on his knee and that's when she noticed that his pants had been torn. "What happened here?"

"That?" Sky watched as Z walked by, phone in hand, as she ordered a pizza for the three of them. "I just tripped coming up the stairs to your floor, guess I should be more careful next time."

"Guess so." Syd smiled. "That will teach you for running up the stairs in a hurry."

Z just shook her head, as she turned away from the two. "…Yeah, two pepperoni and sausage pizzas."


	19. One Too Many Lies

Syd flipped off the TV and turned her head towards Sky, who was fast asleep on the couch. They had been watching a movie and sometime during it he had fallen asleep. She smiled faintly as she stood up and covered him with a blanket and gently kissed the side of his head, before heading over to the back balcony where Z sat reading a book.

"So what really happened?" asked Syd as she closed the door behind her and sat across from her friend, knowing very well she knew the real reason behind Sky's present appearance. "I may be a blonde, but I'm not stupid."

"Didn't think you were." Z set her book down and glanced over at her friend. She had hoped that Syd wouldn't be so blind, that she would see through Sky's lies. "But if you knew he was lying, why didn't you call him on it?" The moment she had heard Sky lie to her she wanted to scream and throw the phone at him, but had decided not to, knowing that nothing good would come out of it.

Syd smiled faintly; she very easily could have called him on it. She knew very well that he hadn't tripped coming up the stairs. He had lied to her often enough about things that she had come to recognize that look in his eyes when he wasn't being truthful with her. "….I just…I didn't feel like arguing with him. It seems to be a regular thing in our relationship and I just didn't want to tonight." She sighed heavily. "I'm tired of arguing. Just once I like to go one week without a single argument…."

Z could sense that something else other than Sky not being truthful was bothering her. She had been acting strange all day, as if something else was on her mind. "…Is something else wrong, Syd?" She knew that she and Bridge had said they weren't going to get involved with Sky and Syd's personal life, but if Syd was willing to talk to her about it she would listen; she always had been a good listener. "We are friends and if something is wrong, you know you can come to me, right?"

"I know." Syd smiled faintly. "Thanks…. But for right now, I'd just really like you to tell me what really happened to him today." At that moment that was all that mattered to her, everything else she would deal with at another time, knowing that right now it could just add more drama to her already dramatic life.

Z sighed heavily, knowing very well that Syd wasn't going to like it one bit and that Sky would have her ass if he found out that she had told Syd. But she knew that Syd deserved to know the truth, so Sky could raise hell for all she cared. It wasn't like she couldn't hold her own against him. "….He got into an accident with his bike and when the medics arrived on the scene, ….well I'm sure you can guess what happened then." She didn't even have to say it, she knew that Syd had known Sky a lot longer than any of them and would know very well what Sky would have done.

"That stubborn, pigheaded…." Her voice was rising with each word.

"Bastard…" Z finished.

"I can't believe…." Syd sighed heavily, trying to calm down her anger at her boyfriend's boldfaced stunt, not giving a damn about his own well-being or being considerate of others that try to help or care about him. "….Wait, I can believe it." She stood up from her chair and was marching towards the door. "….When I get through with him _he's _going to_ need_ a hospital!"

"Syd, wait… there's something else." Z stopped her halfway.

"What?"

"Something else happened out there with him on the bike, but he wouldn't tell me."

"What are you talking about?" asked Syd, suddenly overwhelmed with concern. Just the look in Z's eyes told her that something was wrong. Z was never one to overdo things or say things unless she was positively sure about them.

"I don't know, but…..he ….he looked scared, like something spooked him." That was all she could say to explain what she had witnessed when Sky had told her what had happened. The look he had in his eyes seemed terrified, which was unusual for Sky, who would always hold back his emotions and act as if nothing ever got to him, but this time she had seen something had gotten to him. Something so bad that he didn't want to share it with her, or anyone for that matter.

"Sky, scared?" Syd looked through the windows, looking over at Sky who was sprawled out on the couch sound asleep. "….What could have scared him so bad that he crashed his bike?"

"I don't know." Z sighed heavily, turning her head in the same direction as Syd. "And knowing Sky, he isn't going to come out and tell us."

**The next day….**

In just a few hours he and Megan would be heading to Reefside to spend the weekend. It would be the first time he would meet his father, though he had seen him from a distance years ago when he had been just a boy. ….And then there was his mother Hayley, who he had already met months prior when she and Wesley dropped off some groceries for him and Sky. He was a bit nervous, but Megan had already assured him there was nothing to worry about.

"Hey….." Z announced as she saw Chase walking down the academy hall. "I heard you got back last night." She had just recently bumped into Sam when she went to grab some breakfast and he had filled her in on everything that had happened. "….Sam said that you and Megan are brother and sister."

"Yeah. Pretty wild, huh…." He himself still couldn't believe it, that it had been so easy to find out his past. He would have thought it would take him a lot longer to find his birth family. "….So how have things been here? Anything happen while I was gone?" Though Cruger had told him a few things, he was just curious if Z had noticed anything. She was a pretty sharp girl.

"No more than the usual. Training the cadets, patrolling, Sky being an ass." She smiled.

"Speaking of Sky…."

"He ended up at the apartment last night. He was still there with Syd when I left this morning."

"Really?" Chase was more than just a little surprised. It was very rare, next to never, for Sky to sleep in. "He hardly ever sleeps in. Did something happen?"

Z's smile turned to a frown; she had already broken her promise to Sky not to tell Syd about what had happened, and while she had never said she wouldn't tell the others, she knew Sky expected that what he had told her would stay between the two of them.

Chase could easily read her frown; he knew something had happened and knowing Sky, he didn't want it to go any further. "You don't have to tell me." He was beginning to wonder if this was what Cruger had been talking about. Perhaps Mirloc or something else was after Sky and might have attacked him. "…But he's okay, right?"

"It's Sky," she stated flatly. "He's always okay…"

"Yeah. I know, he'd say he's okay if he had two broken legs and a bloody nose." He smiled faintly at her; in some ways she reminded him of Callie. Tough as nails, could handle her own and never be afraid to say what needed to be said. "…Well, I should get going. There are a few things I need to take care of here before Megan and I head to Reefside."

Z thought back to what Jack had told her about Chase, about what had happened to him, to his team, his friends, his love. She didn't know what to say to him. What could she say? But she felt like she should say something, just to let him know that she was here for him, if he ever needed a friend, someone to talk to. "…..I'm sorry."

Chase stopped and turned around to face her; he was a little confused by her words. She hadn't done anything wrong, nothing to be sorry for. "For what?" He searched her eyes, but she never said anything and then in the pit of his stomach he knew. _He knew_ what she was talking about. He sighed heavily. "Jack told you, didn't he?"

"Yeah…" She nodded her head. "I get it, you know." She licked her lips. "You have every reason to want to hate them; they took everything from you…."

"Yeah, they did." He crossed his arms against his chest. He couldn't blame her for talking to him about this, that was the kind of girl she was, but it was a sore subject with him. He hated Cliff and the others with a passion. "Why are you telling me this, Z?"

"For a long time, I hated the guy that killed my parents. I thought I would hate him forever." She bit her lips. "….But forever is a long time." She looked into his eyes, recognizing that look; she had seen it before and knew that the more time that went by, the worse it could get.

"You're telling me you forgave the guy that took your parents from you," he exclaimed. "That you just forgot what he did…."

"For as long as I live I won't forget, but I can't live my life hating him." She gently gripped his shoulder. "Sometimes people deserve a second chance."

He wanted to believe her words, the more he looked into her eyes, the more he felt drawn into believing her, but the pain in his heart was still so very deep inside that he just couldn't. He couldn't let go of his hatred, his anger towards Cliff, he knew that if their paths ever crossed one of them wouldn't be leaving alive. "…Not everyone feels that way." He gently brushed her hand off his shoulder. "You may have been able to stop hating the man that killed your parents, but that's just not me." He turned away and started back towards the hall.

"You know, you and Sky have a lot more in common than the two of you think. The only difference is: you know the longer you hold onto that hatred the more it will rip you apart."

"It's not so easy, when you had to watch it happen with your own eyes." He glared at her hard. "Did you watch your parents die by his hands?" He watched as Z turned her face away, maybe for the first time not being able to come back with an answer. "I watched as they killed my friends, my team, one by one, and the woman I loved more than anything died in my arms." He sighed heavily. He knew she meant well, but right now he just couldn't let go of his hatred. "I can never forgive that, maybe you can, but I can't…."

And that's when it hit her, the very thing that was preventing him from being able to forgive Chase and the others. Chase hated himself and hadn't been able to forgive himself for what had happened. How could anyone forgive anyone, if they can't even forgive themselves? "You haven't forgiven yourself for what happened, have you?"

"……I got to go." He sighed heavily. "If you happen to see Sky, tell him I'm looking for him."

"Chase, wait.…" Z started after him, but he brushed her off and went on his way, leaving her behind. He hadn't answered her question, but he didn't have to, his eyes said it all. He hadn't forgiven himself and she wasn't sure if he ever would. She didn't know all the exact details about what had happened, only what Jack had been able to tell her, but she could understand Chase's reasons for feeling responsible. He had been the leader, the one in charge, it was his job to protect the team, and every last one of them had died on his watch. Anyone in his place would feel the same way.

* * *

"Hey, sleepy-head," announced Syd as she sat down on Sky's lap. It was close to ten in the morning and he was still on the couch where she had left him last night. She leaned down and kissed him briefly on the cheek, still a little upset with him that he had lied to her about his injured appearance.

"Wh-what time is it?" asked Sky, as he let out a big yawn. The last thing he remembered was watching a movie with Syd before he had gotten tired and fallen asleep on the couch.

"Almost ten." She glared him in the eyes. "You must have been really tired to have slept that long, considering you fell asleep before ten last night." She was trying to get him to tell her himself, giving him the benefit of the doubt, knowing that the reason he slept in later than normal was because his body was recovering from his accident and needed rest to heal.

"…Yeah. Guess I was," he answered as he got himself up into a sitting position. In the process of doing so he accidentally bumped his shoulder against Syd. And winced slightly, feeling a sharp pain, more than likely the results of a bruise and then popping his arm back into place.

"You okay?" she asked.

Sky took a few soft breaths, pushing the pain from out of sight and mind. "Yeah. ….I must have hit it on something yesterday when I fell."

"On the stairs, right?" she questioned him. This was his chance for once to actually be honest with her and not tell her some lie, some made-up story that just downplayed the truth.

"Yeah. The stairs, like I told you last night."

Hurt that he lied to her, she immediately got up from his lap and turned away from him. She had hoped that he would be truthful with her, just this once, but now she was beginning to wonder if Sky could ever be truthful to her about anything. She was so hurt and angry with him that she couldn't even say anything or look him in the eye. She started to clean up the living room, straightening things out, but in such a way that anyone would have to be right out blind not to see that she was upset.

Which was very clear to Sky as he watched Syd move around the apartment, stomping at times, as she put things away and made a point not to look at him as she passed by him. "Did I miss something?" he asked as Syd passed by him as she picked up an empty pizza box from the coffee table and tossed it into the garbage. "Sydney?" But still she wouldn't answer. Seeing he wasn't getting anywhere with her, Sky got up from the couch and went to face her, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Okay, it's obvious that you're pissed at me about something, so why don't you just tell me what I did?"

"…Wow, nice detective work, Sherlock!" she remarked as she shoved him away from her and went about her way.

"Syd." Sky turned around towards her, having no clue why she would be mad at him. He hadn't done anything and they had already apologized about what had happened between them yesterday at the academy. "What is it?"

"Why don't you tell me!" she exclaimed, staring at his clueless face. She just shook her head, not believing that he wouldn't just tell her himself; she thought she knew him ….but maybe she didn't. A few tears leaked from her eyes as she stared at the man she loved more than anything, who had been lying to her face.

"Sydney, what's wrong?" Sky started to approach her, but she shoved him away. "Just tell me what I did and I'll fix it…."

"Stop it! Just stop it!" she stammered. "Stop lying to me!"

"What?" Sky stared at her questioningly. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't fall down on the damn stairs, Sky." She looked him hard in the eyes. "_Did you_?"

_Damnit Z, I told you not to tell her. _He knew he was in for it now, just the way she was staring at him told him how pissed off she was with him, but he figured that all he would have to do is say a few words to calm her down, just as he always had, and things would be okay between them. "Syd…. Let me…"

"No. You had your chance, Sky; you don't get to explain yourself." She walked towards her apartment door and opened it. "Just go, just please go…" She had taken all she could from him today. She didn't want to argue with him or destroy the little that was still left of their relationship; she just needed some time alone to herself to think.

"Sydney…." Sky stared. "You're being irrational. What happened wasn't a big deal."

"It is to me!" she cried. Syd took a deep breath, knowing now she needed to stand her ground and not allow him to talk his way out of this one. "If you won't talk to me about what is going with you, then you need to talk to someone that you will." She had tears in her eyes and her words were muffled. "Because I've tried, Sky ….but you won't let me help you." She bit her lip. "And I don't know if you ever will…"

"Syd." He said her name, hoping to get through to her, hoping that the sound of his voice would somehow make a difference. They had always been able to work things out before, but this time - this time was different. Even the way she was looking at him was different. It was like she didn't even recognize him anymore. He sighed heavily, knowing that at least for now there was nothing he could do or say; even saying he was sorry probably wouldn't be enough. The only thing he could do was do as she asked. He walked out the door and smiled faintly at her. "I'll call you later." He stood still as she closed the door in front of him.

Syd leaned her back against the door and slid down to the floor as she sobbed. She didn't know what she was going to do now. Sky was going through so many issues, not letting anyone in far enough to help him. She had hoped that he would at least let her in, but apparently Sky didn't seem to trust her enough to let her in all the way.

* * *

_"Entering command base Varanox 12, wait for base personnel to respond," _announced the computer as Cruger remained seated, waiting for response from the command leader that was in charge of the prison. Varanox 12 was one of the top containment facilities for holding and containing some of the most mysterious criminals this galaxy had ever seen.

"Commander Cruger of the galactic SPD Earth base, you may lower your docking bay door and I shall meet you on the grounds."

"Thank you. I will meet you momentarily," responded Cruger, as he lowered the bay doors and exited the ship. Outside the ship he was met by several alien and human officers alike. His eyes met with the one wearing the uniform with several badges and a special blaster given only to those of high ranking on his harness. He started to approach him. "You must be Lt. Jess Logan."

"Yes sir, that would be me." He saluted the higher ranking officer and then signaled for his crew to do the rest.

"I have heard a lot of good things about you. I've been told you are the best."

That got a small chuckle out of the middle aged lieutenant. "Would that be from my young nephew?" It had been a good two years since he had seen his nephew; his job here running the prison had become very demanding and he had been unable to make any visits to Earth to see him. And what made it all the harder was that he was his nephew's only living relative; his brother had died in combat over three years ago and the boy's mother had abandoned him when he was just a baby. "How is Willie? He must be about nine now."

"He's doing very well. Has become a remarkable leader; I foresee him doing great things when he's older."

"Good. You be sure to tell him his old uncle says hello." He would have gladly taken the boy and raised him as his own, but this place was no place to raise a child. He was better off at the academy, a place where he could be with kids his own age, make friends, a place where he could run around in the sun, having fun, being a kid. Perhaps one day when his work was done here, he would return to Earth and being reunited with his nephew.

"I will make sure he gets the message."

"Good." He nodded his head, getting things back onto a more professional level. "Now, I understand you came here to question one of our containments…"

"Yes. Mirloc. It is believed he may be some kind of link to what may have attacked my Earth Rangers."

"Well, I can assure you that Mirloc is still here and we haven't had any problems with him," assured Lt. Logan. "But I can arrange it so you may speak with him."

"Yes. I would like that."

"All right." He waved Cruger over. "Follow me."

"….You have a visitor!" announced Lt. Logan firmly as he approached the darkened prison that Mirloc was being held in. Mirloc was being held far away from any of the other prisoners. Logan stepped to the side and nodded to Cruger. "He's all yours, sir."

"Thank you, Lt. Logan," exclaimed Cruger, watching as Logan left the room so thet he might have time alone with Mirloc.

"Commander Cruger, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" sneered the devious murderous criminal.

"…Something or _someone_ attacked my Rangers…"

"….And what do you think _I _would know about that?" Watching Cruger, a cunning grin was on his face. "After all, I have been locked up here, far away from being anywhere near Earth atmosphere."

Cruger wasn't going to let any of Mirloc's cunning or smart remarks slide by, he was going to get to the bottom of this. While Mirloc might have not been the one to attack the Rangers, he was very sure that he knew who had. "….Don't think for a minute that I won't find out." He eyed him closely. "I know that you and Omni were brothers, so I know what you really are capable of."

"Do you?" Mirloc grinned and got up from his bench to face Cruger. "….I have more power than you've ever dreamed of, Doggie Cruger. I could kill you right here and right now if I wanted to."

"I like to see you try," challenged Cruger.

Mirloc eyed the camera watching them off to the side, and then looked back at Cruger. "Perhaps another time." His eyes grew more and more cunning with each passing minute. "So why don't we move onto other things, like that stubborn, arrogant, rude young man….I believe his name was Sky, the young son of the Ranger I murdered."

"He is of no concern to you," growled Cruger.

"Come, Doggie, do you really think you can protect him?" he mocked. "You couldn't protect his father, what makes you think you can protect him from me or anyone else?" He always had known which buttons to push with people and the moment he found it, he would continue to press onto the issue as much as he could. "Face it, you know the boy is weak; he isn't strong enough, that is why you never told him that it was I that killed his father when you sent him to question me about Slate, it is also why you didn't tell him that you came here to see me."

Cruger knew what Mirloc was trying to do, but he would not let himself be outsmarted by the purplish creature, otherwise he would never learn what had attacked the Rangers and who was behind it. "Sky is a fine Ranger, one I am proud to have on my squad." He pressed his hand against the bars. "And let's not forget that he did recapture you, or had you forgotten?"

"Yes. You've got me there. I do have to give him credit for that, but the day will come when he won't be so lucky."

"Is that a threat?" Cruger exclaimed.

"More of a warning. I've seen his destructive nature; one day someone will upper-hand him, it's just a matter of time." Mirloc eyed him closely, knowing that even behind the dark glasses Cruger could still see his deep yellow eyes. "And you know I am right."

The old dog clenched his fists tightly together, needing to control his emotions. He would not let Mirloc use any of his tricks or smart remarks on him. He needed to show him that he was the one in control. "…I will ask you again, Mirloc. Tell me who it is that's after the Rangers or….."

"Or what, Commander, you're going to sic that boy on me?" He laughed. "….I don't know who is attacking your precious Rangers; I've been here the whole time. I wish I knew who it was so that I could congratulate them…"

Cruger could see he would not be getting any further with Mirloc; he was not the type that would give information away, not unless there was something in it for him. They had learned firsthand that he was one that could not be trusted. "I will be back, and for your sake no harm better come to my Rangers until then."

"I look forward to your visit. I do get rather lonely here; it is a rather gloomy and dark place after all…."

Lt. Logan accompanied Cruger back to his ship. "I am sorry that your trip here didn't give you the answers you were seeking, Commander."

"I will get to the bottom of this." Cruger turned to face Lt. Logan. "There's something he's hiding." He didn't know what it was but there was just something about Mirloc, something that just didn't fit and he needed to find out what that something was. "I want to know if he has any visitors at all. Contact me the moment someone comes to see him."

"I will be sure to do that, sir." Lt. Logan put out his hand. "You have my word. My team and I will help you figure out what attacked your Rangers." He firmly shook the Commander's hand and then saluted him.

* * *

"You have a lot of nerve!" exclaimed Sky as he approached Z in the mess hall where she was having lunch with Bridge. He was more than just upset with Z, he was pissed off at her.

"Excuse me?" Z raised her eyebrows; if there was one thing about her that she was going to point out and make clear to everyone, it was that she didn't take anyone's crap.

"Maybe I should go," said Bridge, sensing tension coming from the two and not wanting to get caught in the middle.

"No. You should stay for this, Bridge!" Z pushed Bridge back down onto his chair and firmly locked her eyes with Sky's. She knew why Sky was upset with her, but she could care less, she was glad that she had told Syd. It needed to be said. "….Look, you may be the leader, Sky, but outside the academy you're just like the rest of us."

"You shouldn't have told her. You know how she gets…."

She didn't like his tone one bit. "First off…." Z threw her napkin down on the table and got up. "She asked me to tell her." She got right into his face. "She knew you were lying…"

"That doesn't mean you had to tell her!" He pointed his finger in her face.

Z slapped it away. "Yes I did, Sky!" She looked him hard in the eyes. "You've got a problem and you deny that you do, and not talking about it isn't helping matters. I had to tell Syd because she cares about you. We all do…."

"I _don't _have any problems…." He stared her hard in the face; he could feel his fists clenched together. "I'm just fine. And I would be a hell of a lot better if you would just keep your big fat mouth shut."

"You are not fine, Sky!" Z exclaimed. "Who are you trying to fool?" It was now or never, it was time that someone put Sky in his place and she knew she might be the only one out of the team that could do it. "….Cruger knows it, Megan knows it, the whole team knows it."

"The whole team?" he questioned her. He moved past and looked to Bridge, one of his oldest friends, who for a couple of years had shared a room with him at the academy. In a way Bridge was like his little brother. "Bridge, do you think I have a problem?"

"I…." Bridge could just feel Z's ice cold stare beat right at him. He didn't want to have to say it, but he could see that his friend was in trouble, he needed help, someone to talk to about whatever was going on with him. "…Well, you have been…." Already he could see Sky's eyes change in a way he'd never thought possible, a way he never wanted his friend to look at him, hurt, angry, even betrayed. "….Bad-tempered more, not that you weren't before ….not that I'm saying that you have a temper." Bridge sighed heavily. "…It's just we're worried about you."

"….Well, you shouldn't be." He frowned. "I can take care of myself just fine…"

"Really?" Z crossed her arms against her chest, staring him down. "….Guess that depends on your definition of fine." The two stared each other down, the whole room was so silent that a pin dropping could be heard. It was very rare that any of the cadets would ever see anyone stand up to the great Sky Tate.

"….Is there a problem going on here?" announced Chase as he joined the confrontation. He had been trying to locate Sky, trying to see if he could persuade him to join him and Megan on their trip to Reefside, when he had passed by the mess hall and heard the commotion going on between him and Z.

"You would have to ask _our_ esteemed leader….."

Sky got right into Z's face, his eyes darting right at her. "Just stay out of my way, Z."

Chase could see if he didn't step in, a repeat of what had happened between him and Sky could happen between Sky and Z if the two kept at it the way they were. "Okay, Sky." He pulled him away from Z. on, we're going to go for a ride." He eyed Z, giving her a nod, that he had things under control.

"Fine…" Sky gave a cold glance to Z before turning away from her and Bridge and following Chase out the door.

"Well, that went well…." Z glared around the room; all eyes were on her. "….Hey, this isn't a movie, get your eyes off of me and mind your own business!" she snapped. She took a deep breath, sighing heavily as she sat back down next to Bridge. She hadn't meant to snap but the thing with Sky just frustrated her so much that it was draining. Bridge put his arm around her, patting her on the shoulder, letting her know that it was okay and that he was there for her.


	20. Realization

"If I knew you were going to be dragging me all the way to Reefside I wouldn't have come along." exclaimed Sky as he sat in the passenger's seat of his car. Chase had taken the driver's seat, knowing that if he hadn't there would have been no way he would have gotten Sky to come along.

"And your other option would have been what?" posed Chase. "...Getting into a fist fight with Z?" He turned to Sky, grinning slightly. "I'm sure Commander Cruger would have loved that."

"I wasn't going to hit her!"

"Didn't look that way from my view."

Sky crossed his arms against his chest. "…Maybe you need to get your eyes checked."

"Right." Chase rolled his eyes, as he made a left turn at the light. "What were you so pissed off at her for, anyways?"

"It doesn't concern you; it's between me and her." Sky darted his eyes towards Chase in annoyance. This had not been how he planned his day to go and he had a feeling it would only get worse before it got better.

"Are you two going to be like this the whole way there?" asked Megan as she leaned forward, glancing at the two. For the last hour she had had to sit through the two returning each other's smart remarks and being anything but friendly. "Had I know this beforehand, I would have asked Sam to teleport me there."

"You can thank your _brother_ for that." Sky turned his head to her, then glanced to Chase. "I didn't ask to come in the first place. And I don't like the idea of leaving the academy when there's work to be done."

"Oh lighten up, Sky, you could use a break from the academy," remarked Chase. "Besides, Cruger had already given me clearance for us to leave for a few days."

"I did have a break from it!" he exclaimed. "….Or did you forget?"

"Yeah. Still going to the academy to work out, while under suspension, is taking a break."

"Yeah Sky, some fun might do wonders to that _charm _of yours," added Megan.

Sky grumbled under his breath as he turned his head towards the windows, watching out of it as they passed by other cars, trucks, buildings, heading back to a place he really didn't care to visit right now. Not after what had happened the last time; the first few days had been fine, but after that was when it all changed.

* * *

"How'd it go?" asked Kat, as she looked up to see Commander Cruger coming into the Command Center after his visit to the prison where Mirloc was being held. But when she studied the look on his face, she didn't have to be a genius to know things hadn't gone as they would have liked them. "…..He was there though, right?"

"Yes," he acknowledged her question as he approached her. "…But something felt off. Something just didn't feel right…."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't explain it," he answered. "….Just in the manner that he spoke to me, what he said…"

"Did he say that it was him that attacked the Rangers?"

"No." He sighed heavily, bowing his head down. He hadn't expected to get much out of Mirloc, he knew the crafty criminal was smarter than that, but he'd had to try. "But he didn't say it wasn't him either."

"So you think it was him?" she questioned him, looking him in the eyes, trying to get a sense of what was going on in his head.

"I know there was something he wasn't telling me. He was hiding something…." And that scared him even more: the unknown of what was ahead of them, there was no telling what could happen next and he hated surprises.

"He said something else, didn't he, something that bothered you….?" She could see it in his eyes, something was troubling him and she knew it took a lot to stir up this old dog. And there was only one thing that Mirloc could have said that would have gotten to her old friend. "He said something about Sky…"

"Yes…." Mirloc had basically put a death threat on Sky's life, and what scared Cruger even more was how well Mirloc knew Sky from the inside and out, a dangerous advantage for an enemy to have. He looked to Kat. "….Is Sky here?"

"No." Kat shook his head. "….Chase left a few hours ago with him, they were heading to Reefside."

"Good." He was pleased that Chase had been able to get Sky to go with him and Megan; now all he hoped was that Eric would be able to talk some sense into Sky, because if his senses were right, Sky was going to need to be alert and fully focused for whatever was ahead of them. And he needed Sky to get a handle on all his issues, before he placed his young solider into the face of what could become a deadly battle.

"Do you think we should contact Eric, let him know what's going on?" asked Kat, knowing how Eric could be about things like this.

"No. I don't want to concern him, not until we know more." Yes, he knew Eric would be upset and angry with them for not filling him in on the details right now, but he really did not have much to say, other than that Sky's life could be in danger - which in a way he already had mentioned to Eric along with Sky's slow downfall. All he would have to add is the possibility that there might be something out to get Sky.

"Your funeral." Kat sighed as she walked past him and out of the Command Center.

* * *

The second Sky, Chase, and Megan entered into the Myers household Sky took himself and his bags down the hall and towards the right, heading towards a bedroom, wanting to avoid all the commotion of the reunion. The room he headed into had been made up for him years ago, back when both Eric and Hayley thought that Sky would come home to them during breaks instead of staying at the academy, but he had never actually ever stayed in the room until those couple of weeks he had come to stay with them when he was on medical leave several months ago.

Once inside the room, Sky plopped his bag onto the ground and closed the door behind him. The room was just as he had remembered it, everything was in its own place, the picture of his parents on the nightstand, a picture Eric and Hayley had provided him with. He sighed heavily as he lay down on the bed, turned on his stereo and put on some headphones to block out the homecoming of Chase being reunited with his family.

It wasn't that he wasn't happy for Chase, he really was, but he couldn't help but feel some envy and even anger, feeling as though he was losing everything around him and there wasn't a thing in the world he could do about it. He grabbed the picture of his parents, just staring at it for a long moment, no smile on his face, no emotion, just a blank stare. Nothing seemed to matter to him anymore. He set the picture back in its place and closed his eyes, just wanting to have a few moments to himself before someone would come looking for him. He wanted to avoid whatever conversation he knew Eric was planning on having with him for however long he could.

About ten minutes later there was a knock at the door and after a second the door slowly opened and Eric walked inside, closing it behind him. "Hey. Everyone was wondering where you had taken off to. You feeling okay?"

"I'm fine." Sky opened his eyes. "Just was tired from the drive, is all."

"Yeah…." Eric answered, not really buying it. He had known for a while now that Sky was anything but fine, he was far from being fine. And it seemed that the more time that passed with Sky not dealing with his problems the worst things got. "So how's work been? Any of the cadets given you any problems?"

"Work's been fine. And the cadets know better than to give me any problems," answered Sky, looking Eric sharply in the eyes. He couldn't know for sure, but he suspected that Eric probably had heard about his suspension; whether it been from Cruger or Megan or both he didn't know. But at the moment he wanted to avoid that conversation for as long as he could, or not have it brought up at all if he could help it.

Eric sighed heavily as he licked his lips. His talk with Cruger had been a big eye-opener. Something needed to be done, otherwise one day soon Sky would lose all control and wind up getting himself killed. But he knew he couldn't just jump into a conversation about that with Sky. He needed to work his way in, hoping that Sky would think enough of him to talk to him. "Good…." He nodded his head, as he leaned up against the wall. "So how are things with you and Syd?"

Sky could see where this was going. Eric wasn't one to back down from anything. He would eventually get what he wanted, one way or another. "…..Things are _perfect_ with us."

_Things are never that perfect_. He was beginning to wonder if Hayley had been right about her theory on Sky and Syd's relationship, if Sky was using his relationship with Syd as a way to avoid dealing with his problems. But he wouldn't bring that up just yet, knowing that if he did he would never be able to get through to Sky. "That's good. I'm happy for you. Syd's a nice girl."

"Yeah. She is…."

It might not be his place; he knew Sky was an adult now and could make adult decisions, but he still felt the need to ask. He knew the last thing Sky needed was to be getting himself into a situation that he wasn't ready for. "You two being…." He beat around the bush, trying to be as subtle as possible.

Sky raised his eyebrows. "I'm not an idiot, Eric…"

"Didn't say you were." Eric bit his lip, not sure if it was too early to bring it up or not, but knowing that it needed to be said, given the present situation that was around them. "Things with you and Chase okay? Megan mentioned that you two have been on edge with each other for a while."

"Megan says a lot of things…."

"That she does." Wasn't exactly the answer he was looking for, but it was enough to know that he knew part of Sky's problem had to do with Chase. He smiled faintly, as he stared at the troubled young man before him. "You know Sky, just because Chase turned out to be Hayley's son doesn't change things. You're still a member of this family."

"Chase is _blood_," he answered, giving a hard look to Eric as he tossed off his headphones. "I'm just an _obligation_." He got off the bed and started towards the door, only to be held back by Eric.

"You are not an obligation ….not to _me_…" He knew Sky was angry, angry because of a lot of things, and he had every right to be. But he wasn't going to stand for Sky giving him this kind of bullshit. "Damnit Sky! Do you think this is easy for me?"

Sky sighed heavily as he turned his head away. It hadn't really occurred to him how this made Eric feel, with Chase turning out to be Hayley and Tommy's son. He had been so caught up with his own problems that he had forgotten how Eric must be feeling right now, having his life get turned upside down. ….A feeling he knew all too well.

Eric sighed heavily; the last thing he wanted to do now was start an argument with Sky. He knew Sky needed him right now, a lot more than he thought he did. He gripped his shoulder. "I was going to go out to the bar and have a beer. You want to come?"

"Shouldn't you be interacting with your family?"

"I think they'll be okay for a little while. Besides, it will give us a chance to catch up." He stared Sky in the eyes, hoping to get through to him, knowing that he was the closest person Sky had to a father. Wes had been his best friend, like a brother, and had always made sure he was okay. He owed it to Wes to make sure that Sky would be okay. "What do you say?"

Sky knew he might end up regretting this, with the way Eric's conversation had been going. But it would get him out of the house for a couple of hours, where he wouldn't have to deal with the drama here. …Not to mention the fact that after the day he'd had, he could go for a drink. "All right… Fine."

* * *

They had been at the bar for a little over an hour. Eric had been trying to get through to Sky, trying to get him to open up to him, like he once had all those month ago before they had dumped the biggest secret of Sky's life onto him. But Sky kept on insisting he was fine and that everything was great, while the whole time Eric knew Sky was lying to his face. "Who are you trying to fool here, Sky?" He wasn't going to leave this bar until he got Sky to talk about what was going on. "I talked to Cruger. I know about everything." He watched as Sky turned his head away. "With Chase… The suspension, your disrespectful attitude."

"Yeah. Well, Cruger's a pain in my ass." He looked Eric sharply in the eyes. "And don't tell me you never felt the same way." It was no secret to anyone that Cruger and Eric had never been on the same page with each other. The two had been known to bump heads with each other. "The way he orders us around like we're his damn puppets."

"This isn't about _me_ or my past with Cruger," Eric answered just as sharply. "This is about _you_." He grabbed a hold of Sky's wrist. "You're better then this, Sky. I know what SPD and being a Ranger means to you, and your attitude has been throwing it down the drain."

"Hey guys…." Conner announced as he joined the two.

"You don't know a _damn_ thing about me!" Sky yanked his arm out of Eric's grip as he stood up and started stomping away from the table.

"Was it something I said?"

Eric ignored Conner's remark and started after Sky, grabbing a hold of the young man and pressing him up against the wall so he couldn't get away. "What is it with you? I take two steps forward, you're taking ten steps back. I thought we were over this, Sky. You said you wanted things to be different between us, that you didn't want us to be strangers anymore."

Sky shoved Eric off of him and looked him straight in the eyes, his face burning with fury and anger he had been holding in for months. "But that's what we are." Sky cleared his throat. "We're strangers! My whole life has been one big lie after another…."

"It has not been a lie. …Your father loved you-"

"_My father_? I didn't even know my father!" he exclaimed. He clenched his fists tightly together. "Two years, that's all I got. And that whole two years, he lied to my face every day." Everything he had been holding in for months, ever since he learned the truth about his life and where he came from, just started coming out and he didn't care how hurtful or demeaning it sounded. "Everyone who supposedly _loved_ me lied to me. Everything about my life was a lie!" he exclaimed. He just shook his head, staring Eric in the face. "…And you expect me to just accept that?"

Eric wasn't about to let Sky tarnish Wes's memory like that, not when he knew Wes loved Sky to death, that he would have done anything and everything for him. "Don't you dare talk about _him _like that." In his anger he shoved Sky once again up against the wall, causing one of the framed pictures on it to drop to the ground. "You really are pushing your luck with me, kid…."

"Eric, you need to-" started Conner, wanting to make sure things didn't get out of hand.

"Not now, Conner." Eric eyes narrowed onto Sky, he took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down. Yelling at Sky wouldn't help matters, it would only make things worse. "…Your time with him may have been short, but I swear to you, the moment he laid his eyes on you he loved you from the start."

"….You sure it had nothing to do with the fact that I was all that was left of the woman he loved more than anything?"

Eric bowed his head as he sighed heavily. He bit his lips and as he looked back to Sky his eyes softened a little. "I won't deny that your mother had something to do with it. They loved each other very much and it broke both of their hearts to have to be apart, but you are what held them together. He loved you more because of that."

"If he loved me so much, then why did he lie to me?"

"It was for your protection. He didn't have a choice, Sky-"

"Didn't have a choice!" Sky's eyes widened as he showed Eric off of him, this time with full force, shoving him right into Conner. He stood above the two, staring down at them, filled with so much anger and hurt that he didn't know what to do with it. "Does it look to you like I need protection?" Feeling there was nothing left to say, Sky stormed off out of the bar.

All Eric could do was watch as the son of his best friend took off. Now everyone in the bar was staring at him. Conner glanced at all of them. "There's nothing left to see here, people, go back to what you were doing." He turned to help Eric to his feet. "You, going to go after him?"

"No. I'll let him blow off some steam." Eric slowly made it back over to the table he and Sky had been sitting at, with Conner following behind him. "Besides, he's right." He took a sip of his beer. "His whole life was a lie. Everything was a lie…."

"You did it for his protection. What choice did you have?"

"To leave well enough alone….."

"Yeah. And how do you think he would have turned out then? Given the age he was, if you guys hadn't done what you did he would have never adjusted. He could have been worse off than he is now."

But Eric wasn't about to buy it just yet. Sure, back when it first happened it seemed they were doing the right thing, but now looking back he wasn't so sure anymore. There had been so many lies, told to protect him, starting with why his last name wasn't Collins. He turned to meet Conner's eyes. "Do you know what he told him, why he and Wes were living with his grandfather? How Jen died?"

Conner sighed heavily as he shook his head no. He and Wes had rarely seen each other during those two years. Wes had been busy with the starting of SPD and he had been busy himself, going to school and playing college soccer. "No. I don't."

"We told him that his house had burned down and that Jen died in the hospital from too much smoke intake. And the reason he didn't remember a whole lot was because he had hit his head and was in a coma for a couple of days." He slammed his beer bottle onto the table. "What kind of bullshit is that to tell some little kid?"

"You did what you had to do back then, right or wrong." There was little he could say or do in this situation. "…You can't keep beating yourself over this, Eric, what's done is done."

"Someone sure has grown up."

"Marriage and kids will do that to you."

"Speaking of kids." He smiled faintly, wanting to turn the conversion into something more uplifting than his troubles with Sky. "How are the tykes?" It had been a good couple of months since the two and their families had gotten together. A couple of years ago Conner had moved back to Reefside with his family, taking a coaching job at the high school. With his soccer program on the rise and the money coming in, he wanted to settle in one place and spend more time with his family.

"They're good. Walker and Erica are both doing real good in school, getting better grades than I ever could." Conner had to laugh at that; back when he was in school he was more of the jock than the bookworm. "And my little angel, Kara, is growing up just too fast." Kara was his four year old daughter and the spitting image of him, as his wife always said.

"That's great. And the boys, how are things with them?"

"Jeff and Jarrod are doing well; they've finally adjusted to having me at the school every day." Jeff and Jarrod were his wife Jena's fifteen year old twin sons from a previous relationship, he had been more of a father to them than their real father had ever been. "They just can't wait until they get their driver's licenses next year."

"Fun. I have a good year and half until I get to look forward to that."

"Yeah. Speaking of, the boys have been asking about Megan." Conner grinned in a winking sort of way.

"Just what my little girl needs, a licensed McKnight…" He took a sip of his beer. "Besides, she already has a boyfriend."

"Yeah, so I've heard. Sam, right?" Conner took a few swigs of his beer. "He has teleportation powers, doesn't he?"

"Your point?"

"Nothing." Conner shrugged his shoulders back, giving that childish grin of his. "I'm just saying that cars run out of gas, but teleportation, boy, well who knows just how far he can go before he runs out of gas."

Eric rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I take back what I said earlier, you haven't grown up at all."

Conner had to laugh at that, sure he had changed a lot over the years, and a lot of that had to do with being a Ranger, then starting the soccer program, and meeting Jena and her boys, but every so often he would let a little bit of his old goofy-charming self come out. "…...So, Tommy and Hayley, how you dealing with that?"

"It's not easy, but I probably could be taking it a lot worse."

"….So what's he like, Chase…."

"Seems like a good kid, very sure of himself, knows what he wants." He smiled faintly. "Reminds me a lot of Hayley. And then there's that fighting soldier instinct of his, that reminds me a lot of Tommy." He really couldn't say anything bad about Chase, at least from the short time he had spent with him and the way Megan just raved about him.

"How are the kids dealing with it?"

"Surprisingly well, a lot better than I would have thought…."

* * *

"Hey." Hayley stirred awake as Eric climbed into bed. "How'd it go?" She didn't even have to wait for an answer, the look on Eric's face said enough. "That well, huh." She gave him a comforting smile, knowing that he took Sky's problems to heart. It had always been a difficult thing for Eric.

"…..He didn't come back with me, if that says anything."

"What?" Hayley sat up in bed. She had known that things were bad with Sky, but she didn't think it was _that_ bad. "Did you go look for him?"

"Yeah. Conner and I searched for two hours, called his cell. Nothing." He moved closer to her, drawing her into his arms. "…..He is so angry, Hayley. …..The things he said…."

"Reminded you of yourself?" For a while now Hayley had known that the reason why Eric took things so hard with Sky was because he was reminded of himself, from a long time ago.

"….Yeah. I was just like him, angry and pissed off at the world, never letting anyone get in my way." He sighed heavily. Even to this day his past at times still haunted him, but he had for the most part gotten over it and learned to live with it. His childhood and growing up had not been glamorous by any means, but he had somehow survived. "…Back then I thought I was on top of the world and I didn't need anyone, that I could get by just fine on my own, and then I met Wes …. but I didn't want anything to do with him then. I thought he was crazy for wanting to hang out with me. Then the other kids, that were just like him, rich and popular … I didn't get why he was hanging out with the _charity kid_." There were days when he wondered how things would have turned out differently if he had allowed Wes back then to be his friend, instead of pushing him away.

"Maybe it was because Wes saw something in you that you refused to see…."

"Yeah. He was such a pain in the ass back then, but a good one." He smiled faintly as he let out a heavy sigh. "It took me a long time to get over my anger and my pride, because for a long time my motto was 'It's better to be alone than to be disappointed.'" Back then he truly did believe that Wes would let him down, come to his senses and stop wanting to hang around him so much.

Hayley kissed him on the cheek. "….Maybe that's why you're not the right one to be helping Sky through this, because you two are so much alike. Maybe he needs what you had, another Wes … to be a pain in the ass."

Though he hated to admit it, she was right. Sky and he would clash when they got into a heated argument. He could tell Sky what he had gone through, but knew that it wouldn't matter; he knew that for a fact because he didn't care what sorry-ass story someone would tell him. "….Wouldn't know where we can find one of those, would you?"

"I'm sure the right person will come along, if they haven't already." She eyed her husband in the eyes, smiling. "….Just don't beat yourself up over not being able to help him …. after all, you turned out okay. I know Sky will too."

"I'll try not to." He learned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. "So how'd things go tonight with Chase…?"

"Better than I ever could have imagined. He went home with Tommy for the night, but the two will be back in the morning for breakfast."

"That's great." He pulled her closer to her as they settled down for the night.


	21. Evil is Lurking

Sky stumbled onto the front porch of the Collins mansion. He wasn't even sure how he had gotten here, only recalled getting into a cab and then being waked up by the driver telling him that they had arrived at their destination. His head was throbbing and he felt sick to his stomach; after his blowout with Eric he had taken off angry and had gone to every bar that he could find, just drinking away, not giving a damn about anything or anyone. He probably would have been at it all night, but at the last bar he somewhat recalled getting into it with some trucker, some words had been exchanged and fists started flying, which would explain why his jaw felt raw and sore. He had gotten thrown out of the bar.

Why he had told the driver to drop him off here was beyond him. This was the last place on Earth he wanted to be ….wait, he took that back, the last place he wanted to be was in Reefside with Eric and the others. Neither one of the places was on the top of his list. It just reminded him of all the lies he had been told throughout his life, by the very people who were supposed to care about him.

He reached for the door to open it, but it was locked and of course there was no one there to let him in. Nobody lived here anymore, even though the house looked as though someone could be living in it: the grass was cut, the flowers were blooming and furniture filled the house, but no… The last time anyone had stayed here for any length of time was when he had brought Syd here, the day when their relationship had gone beyond a friendship. Quick images of that night flashed before his eyes._ Kissing her…..holding her tight to his body….as she responded to his touch….clothes being ripped off as they sank into the bed…_

"…Sydney…." Vaguely he recalled that he had said he would call her after the fight they'd had when she kicked him out of her apartment. He had never called her ….he started to reach for his phone to dial her number, but in his drunken condition he felt his legs give away and he dropped to the ground, leaning his back against the house. His breathing was heavy and he could feel as the darkness started to close in. ….Probably it was a good thing he passed out from all the alcohol he had consumed, because he was sure that Syd wouldn't be thrilled with him calling her in the state he was in. Their relationship was bad as it was…

**Elsewhere…..**

Sydney sat in her bed staring at the clock; the time read 2:00 am. It had been several hours since she had yelled at Sky and basically thrown him out of her apartment, something she hadn't even been sure she was capable of doing. It really had been the first time she had stood up to him; she had tried in the past, but always had let him weasel his way back in. She sighed heavily as she watched another minute pass by on the clock. Her eyes turned to her cell, which was just lying there on her nightstand silently. When Sky had told her he would call her later she thought he might be telling the truth, but he hadn't called.

She tried to fight the tears, but she couldn't hold them any longer; once she let the one tear fall, the rest soon followed after. "….What have I done?" she cried as she buried her face into her pillow, feeling that if she hadn't yelled at him, hadn't kicked him out, then they wouldn't be in this situation.

There was a knock on her door. "….Syd, are you okay?" asked Z, who had been waked up by her sobs. To tell the truth, she hadn't been able to sleep and was wide awake. All day she had been worried about Syd and that had carried on throughout the night. She knew something other than Sky was bothering her friend; Syd has been extremely emotional.

"….It's nothing Z, go back to bed," Syd mumbled as she brushed away her tears.

"It's not nothing." Z opened the door; one way or another she would get to the bottom of this. "You wouldn't be crying if it was nothing." She walked over to her friend and climbed onto the bed with her. "I'm your friend, Syd." She looked her in the eyes. "I know something other than Sky has been bothering you. You can tell me…"

Syd sighed heavily, knowing she was lucky to have a friend like Z by her side. She couldn't ask for a better friend and even though she was older than Z by a good few months, at times she felt Z was the older sister, probably because Z had to grow up faster, due to living on the streets with Jack. "…I can't… Not yet." She felt a lump in her throat. "I have to talk to someone else first…"

Deep down in the pit of her stomach, Z had a feeling, as she had for the last few days, about what was going on with Syd, but she wouldn't push it out of Syd. She would let Syd tell her on her own time. She smiled faintly, as she leaned in to give her a hug. "It's going to be okay, Syd."

"I hope so," she whispered, as a tear rolled down her cheek.

* * *

Chase violently tossed and turned in his sleep, his heart raced rapidly against his chest, as he began calling out the names of his former teammates, and once again like so many night before, relived the day that had changed his life forever, that had tortured him in his sleep all these months, a day he wished he could just wish away. "Dougy…. Link…. Val…. Callie….No…."

_BOOM!!! Explosions were going off everywhere, left and right, there was no escape. Dark smoke filled the room. He couldn't see anything, only could hear faint cries for help, and then quicker than light something jumped in front of him. Before he could even react he felt a sharp pain going into his cheek. "Ahhhh…." There was another explosion, an even louder one than before._

_"It ends now, Red Ranger!" exclaimed a voice._

_Chase's vision was blurry as he tried to make sense of the figure in front of him. It was yellow, but it wasn't Callie's voice, someone else. This was a man's voice. Chase grabbed a hold of his head where he had a large cut running down his face and that was when everything came to and he could see the face of the attacker, or more so make out what it was. It was another yellow Ranger… "Cliff?" Unsure of his own voice, he looked around and saw two other members of A Squad Earth Rangers fighting around him, but not fighting the enemy, they were fighting SPD cadets, other rangers, …his team. "What's going on?" He got to his feel, not understanding why this was happening. "Why are you doing this? We're on the same side…"_

_"Oh, but I'm afraid that I'm not fighting on the same side…."He smirked to himself behind his helmet, but made it perfectly clear to the man before him. "We have been working for Gruumm since before we joined the academy…"_

_"What?" Chase couldn't believe it. "But…..we fought side by side, you saved my life once, don't you remember?"_

_"It was all part of the plan, we couldn't let anyone suspect our true intentions." He pulled out his blaster and pointed it right at him. "…But I'm afraid that this time I will not save you, it ends here."_

_"Don't do this, Cliff, I know you better than this. This isn't you, be my old friend again."_

_"You don't know anything about me!" he snapped. "Goodbye!"_

_"Nooo!" Chase stood frozen, unable to move, not being able to understand why his old friend, who he had joined with on several missions over the year, why he and the others were doing this. Both of the A Squad teams had been friends, had even trained together on one of the neighboring planets. He just watched as the blast headed straight towards him, but it would never reach him. His body dropped to the ground, someone had gotten in the way. He turned his head, his heart skipped several beats and time seemed to stop around him. "….Callie, no!" he cried._

_"You fool…." Cliff just stood there watching, he had expected that to happen…_

_Chase had tears in his eyes as he stared into her face, blood was all over. "You didn't have to do that," he cried._

_"I couldn't let you die…" she whispered._

_His lips trembled as he held her close to him. Nothing else mattered anymore; as he looked around he watched as his team fell, being killed by the enemy, and those who had betrayed them. He locked his eyes onto Cliff, he wanted nothing more than to kill him right there and then, rip him apart for the monster he was, but he couldn't leave Callie, he'd rather die than leave her._

_Cliff just stood there frozen, as if he felt torn inside, unsure of even himself at the moment. He stared at the gun in his hand, it was shaking, quick images flashed through his mind. He grabbed a hold of his head trying to get a sense of them, and tossed the gun to the ground. It was as if someone was trying to get through to him, but couldn't. "What do you want… Who are you… Ahh... Go away!" he screamed, going into a forced demorph._

_"Cliff… It's time to go," announced Kane, the Green Ranger. "This place is going to blow!"_

_Cliff snapped out of whatever had just happened to him and looked at Chase, who held Callie in his lap. He was struggling with what to do, as if someone buried inside told him that this was wrong and he regretted the choice he had made, but couldn't bring himself to do anything but run after his teammates, leaving Chase behind._

"No… Come back and fight!" Chase abruptly woke from his sleep, heart pounding heard against his chest; a coat of sweat covered his body. His breathing was heavy, be took a few quick breaths to ease it down. He ran a hand over his face. "Callie…." he said, as he pulled the sheets away and got up out of the bed.

Chase wandered around his father's house, hoping to calm himself down and think about something other than his nightmare. He found himself in the study where he saw a packet of folders, papers from Tommy's students, most of the grades consisted of a B or better, which lead Chase to believe that his father must be a pretty good teacher, considering science had been his worst subject when he was in school.

He himself still couldn't believe that his father was a simple high school teacher, when it wasn't so long ago that he had been one of the most feared Power Rangers ever. But it did bring some peace, that perhaps one day he too would have this, something simple. His eyes then locked onto a picture frame resting on the shelf on the back wall: it had his father, a woman with long brown hair, and a boy, about fifteen or so. He reached for it to get a better look. They all looked so happy in it, but he had no clue who the woman and boy were, although the woman did look a little familiar.

"That's Kimberly and her son, Junior…."

Chase turned around to see Tommy standing in the doorway.

"Kim is…." He sighed heavily, these days he didn't know what they were, she hasn't exactly answered any of the calls or e-mails or even letters he had sent her the first couple of months that he had come back here. Not that he could blame her after what had happened; it had devastated both of them …but he couldn't help but feel a little angry, because he was hurting just as much. "…or was my girlfriend. We went to high school together."

And that's when the light went on. "….She was a Ranger with you ….pink one?"

"Yeah." Tommy smiled as he took the picture from his son, to glance at it. It had been a while since he had even looked at it, after what had happened it was just too painful to even think about her, yet alone look at her picture.

"Is the boy, …Junior…" There was still just so much he didn't know about his family.

"No. He isn't mine." He set the picture back on the shelf. "His dad died a while ago, in a waterskiing accident. …But for the time Kim and I were together, we were close…" He had even come to view Junior as his son, they had done all the things a father and son do together, went to sporting events, even took him hunting a few times, and he had prepared him for his learner's permit.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" It was clear to Chase just by looking into Tommy's eyes, that there were still strong feelings for the woman and teen he had left behind to come here. He wanted to know what would have caused someone to just leave when they were obviously very much in love.

Tommy turned to Chase, eyeing him directly in the eyes. "Only if you don't mind telling me what that nightmare of yours is about?"

Tommy and Chase sat across from each other at the kitchen table, each with a cup of coffee and a donut in front of him. For the last two hours the two had talked. Chase had told his father about that dreadful day, as he watched his teammates and cadets die around him as they were being betrayed by their own, and how the love of his life, girl of his dreams, died in his arms. How he was so full of hatred towards the former A Squad and how he wanted nothing more than to rip Cliff Chan apart, because it had been him who had taken Callie from him.

And though it was the hardest thing he had done, he did feel some sort of relief come over him, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. The only thing that still remained was his pure hatred and desire to make Cliff pay; he could not let go of his hate and forgive his former friend. "….I hate him …I hate him so damn much."

Tommy couldn't blame Chase for hating the man who had killed the woman he loved, he knew he couldn't even ask him to forgive him, to let go of his hate before it ate him up inside. But what he could do is share his own experiences, he had seen a lot, done a lot in his life, some things that he wasn't too proud of and never would be.

He began to tell Chase his whole history of being a Ranger, even the things he probably didn't know about. The days when he had fought for the side of evil back when he had been put under a spell, when he had been just some pawn for evil to use, how he at fifteen nearly came close to killing the Rangers, his friends, …and the girl of his dreams. Though he had been under the spell, he knew what was going on, but couldn't stop himself or say anything …he had no way of reaching out. He only could hope that they would find a way to free him, to save him. He hadn't killed anyone then, thankfully, but years later he wouldn't be so lucky.

He then began to tell Chase about his work with Anton Mercer, of how the two experimented, how the dino gems came to be, what had happened between him and Smitty, of how Mercer and he created the monstrous beast that would later kill a group of scientists and how he'd barely escaped with his life to forever be haunted by their deaths, knowing that he in some way was responsible for it. It had taken him a long time to forgive himself for all the things that had happened.

And as promised, Tommy went about telling what had happened between him and Kim. He started with the death of her husband, who before he had died asked Tommy to watch over his family and that he would be okay if down the line the two got together. All he wanted was for his son to have a father… And he ended it with the sad tale of how Kim had miscarried the baby and how after that their relationship had tumbled down around him, to the point where they couldn't even talk to each other. Of how leaving was the hardest decision he had ever had to make, not just Kim …but for Junior.

"Did you ever tell her about what Pete said to you?"

"…No." He shook his head, all these years he had kept that a secret. It wasn't that he meant to, there just had never been the right time or place to say it. "I didn't. ….I guess I just didn't know how I was supposed to tell her that he knew he was going to die." He was recalling how Pete had told Kim numerous times that everything was going to be okay, that they would make it through this and have more babies.

"…You could leave that part out." Chase smiled faintly, understanding that would be a hard thing to tell someone you care about. He bit his lip. "But I do think you should tell her the part about him wanting you to be with her and Junior." He looked into his father's eyes. "…Because you still love her, I can see it in your eyes… You don't let love like that go, not without a fight."

"….And I will." Tommy smiled faintly; Chase reminded him a lot of Hayley and how good she was with words, it was a trait he admired and he was grateful that his son had it. "I'd fight for her to the ends of the Earth…" He cleared his throat, knowing he had fought all he could. "…But she gets to decide when my fight is over." Because as much as he loved her, he loved her enough to let her go. If that was what she wanted, he would let her go.

That was something Chase knew all too well about, he had let Callie go. He had let all his dreams with her go. Though his and Tommy's situations were different, Callie was dead and Kim was very much alive, both of them had the choice of letting the one they love the most go. He could hold onto Callie for as long as he lived and never love again, but she wouldn't want him to. She would want him to move on, learn to love again. …And with his father, it was too common of a situation; when a couple loses a child, they fall apart, some are able to hang on and start again, while for others it just becomes too painful and one of them just lets go, because they fought as hard and as far as they could. "...Anything's possible, she could come around."

"I hope so, Junior tells me she is doing better." Though he and Kim hadn't talked, he had stayed in close contact with Junior who gave him updates on how she was doing.

"….Can I ask you something?"

"Anything…."

"When I told you about my deal with Cliff Chan, why didn't you tell me to forgive him?" He would almost expect for him to tell him to forgive the man who had brought so much havoc to his life, especially after hearing about his father the stories of when he had been an evil Ranger. Though his father's story was different from Cliff's, they still in a way were almost similar.

"Because you're a grown man who can make his own decisions. I can't tell you who to forgive or not forgive." He smiled faintly, wanting to offer an answer as best as he could to help his son through this difficult time and though it might not be the answer he wanted to hear, it was the type of answer that had helped him. "The only thing I do know is, the longer you hold on, the longer the nightmares will remain."

* * *

**Varanox 12**

In a darkened prison room Mirloc sat alone, staring at the walls of his imprisonment. He had been here for months, ever since Sky, the son of Wesley Collins, had struck him down and arrested him. A short time later he had been sent here, to one of the darkest and grimmest of all prisons, on a planet that receives no sunlight _ever_. This had not been part of his plan or the bargain he had made. He was beginning to regret the deal he had made with one of the most deceitful of all criminals he had ever come across. So many of his kind had already suffered because of it, and now Cruger was asking questions. Questions he didn't want to answer, out of the fear of _his_ own life.

He heard footsteps coming towards him. It was one of the guards, and walking beside him was a man dressed in a long black coat, his face hidden by a hood. "You have a visitor, Mirloc." Lt. Logon eyed him closely. "Don't pull any tricks, otherwise you know what will happen." He turned to the man wearing the cloak. "If he tries anything, use this." He handed him his blaster from his harness.

"Thank you," the man answered. "Now leave us, I have some very important things that I must discuss with my friend here."

"Of course." Lt. Logan nodded his head and left the prison room.

"….I see you've picked up some new tricks since we last met."

"I have picked up many tricks, my friend." He pulled of his hood to reveal his face, but just for a moment. He laughed grimly, seeing the shock on his yellow-eyed friend. "As you can see."

"That explains why they let you in."

"With a place as heavily guarded as this, do you really think they would have welcomed me in if they knew who I _really_ am?" Two yellow lights flashed in the darkness of the cape where his face was hidden. "Though my little mind control tricks do help make things easier."

"….So have you come to free me?"

"Free you? But why would I want to do such a thing?" He walked circles around the prison he was being held in. "After all, you did kill an officer of the law, it would be a crime if I helped you escape."

"I didn't kill anyone." His eyes grew grimmer, staring at the man wearing the cloak. "At least not _yet_…."

"Strong words, for a pathetic little worm."

"After what my people have done for you, the sacrifices my brothers have made, you owe me."

"Owe you?" He laughed. "I owe you _nothing_! You see, it is you who still owes me so much more. I spent over a decade of my life in some prison while you and your kind roamed free."

"We got you out, it may have taken longer than expected, but you did go free." He gripped his hand tightly around the prison bars, snarling back at the man with the cloak. "Help me escape, my old friend. I have done all that you have asked of me."

"No, you weren't able to kill _him_….."

"He proved to be much stronger than you said he would be."

"It is not my fault you couldn't handle him, but I suppose I do owe you for not killing him." He walked around some more, gun in hand, toying with it. "Because now I will be able to finish him off myself. It will be so ironic, poetic even."

"I should warn you that Cruger is becoming suspicious, he had already came to see me, asking questions."

"By the time Cruger realizes what is going on, it will be too late."

"What makes you think I haven't told him already: the truth about what really happened that day?"

"You aren't that stupid, because you know I still have one of you left in my care, to do with what I want." He crooked his neck and two yellow eyes shone in the darkened cape. "…But we both know how I hate loose ends." He raised the gun up and set it to kill. "You have been of great service to me, but I am afraid your time has come to end, old friend."

"Would you really kill me?"

"Do you really think a man such as I would have a problem killing the likes of you? I had no trouble killing others more worthy of sparing than you." He snickered under his breath. "I even killed my own blood." He tightened his fingers around the blaster.

"So it is true, you did kill him?"

"Of course I killed him. The universe isn't big enough to hold the two of us." He snickered. "….Any last words?"

He could only stand back and watch as the blast made contact with his body. There was nothing he could do but stand there and take what was coming for him. He was surprised he had lasted this long, it had been his own fault for trusting the likes of him, and now like so many before him, he would fall to the hands of this monstrous beast.

"Hey, what's going on here?" exclaimed Logan as he rushed into the room followed by several guards behind him.

"Pity." The cloaked figure turned to meet Lt. Logan and the guards. "Seems my mind control wore off." He raised the blaster up, setting it to full power. "Looks like I will have to kill you."

Logan started to reach for his blaster, but it wasn't there. That's when he heard the snickering of the cloaked figure and saw the glowing yellow eyes. His heart skipped a beat when he understood what was going on. "You're-"

"The man who's going to kill you and your men." He pulled the trigger, blasting away, hitting Logan right on target. Logan dropped to the ground clutching his chest, watching as blaster shots were going all over the place, as a war broke out, his crew, his squad was dying around him and there was nothing he could do but watch, as he held onto the last few breaths he had left in him. A dark shadow hovered over his near lifeless body, pointing a blaster to his face. "Don't worry, I'll let myself out…" _BANG!!!_


	22. From Bad to very Bad

_"Commander Cruger, come in this is Commander Corbett."_

Cruger was standing at his post when the message from Michael Corbett of the Mirinoian base made contact. In the pit of his stomach Cruger knew something was amiss just by the sound of his comrade's voice; something was wrong, _very wrong_… "I'm here, Mike. Go ahead…' Cruger brought the communication up on the screen. Just as he did Kat entered into the room, she too sensing something was wrong the moment her eyes locked onto the screen where Mike's face was being shown, he looked just as he had all those months ago when two squads and several cadets had been killed, while on a mission on another planet. "What's the urgency?"

The middle-aged Commander sighed heavily, still reliving the details of what he had seen and heard, but knew he needed to tell Cruger what was going on. _"At about 0600 this morning, my B-Squad Rangers, led by my son, entered into Varanox 12 to answer a distress call they had picked up while on a routine training assignment of traveling the space galaxy…" _He cleared his throat, his face becoming very serious. _"I'm afraid something has happened, sir…"_

Kat shared a concerned glance with Cruger, who was at a loss for words. He had been afraid ever since he had left the planet that something was going to happen and apparently something had. The only question now remaining was what. "What happened…?"

_"….They're all dead, Lt. Logan, his squad ….even the prisoners. Nobody was left alive..."_

He couldn't believe it, he had been afraid that something bad was going to happen, but he had never begun to imagine that it would be this bad. For a brief moment his thoughts turned to Logan's young nephew Willie, how was he going to tell that young boy his only remaining relative was now dead? ….But unfortunately tending to Willie would have to wait, as a more pressing issue remained …who_ was the killer_. "…Was Mirloc among the dead?"

There was a long pause before Mike even responded, but his silence was more than enough. _"I'm afraid that it only gets more complicated. The holding cell that Mirloc was being held in was occupied, but…" _He started to reach his hand over to some type of control center. _"Perhaps it would be better if you see for yourself. This is the video feed that my son sent to me, that the security cameras picked up." _He bit his lips, eyeing them both. _"…I should warn you …it's disturbing."_

The picture on the screen soon switched over from Commander Michael Corbett to the prison holding cell where Cruger had talked with Mirloc. For a few short moments they watched as Lt. Logan showed a man wearing a dark black cloak in and then reaching for his harness, pulling out his weapon and handed it to the cloaked man, as if he didn't even have to think about it, almost as if he trusted his life with this cloaked man.

"….I have a bad feeling about this," whispered Kat, as she and Cruger continued to watch the video feed, listening to the chilling conversation between Mirloc and the cloaked man, which only brought on more questions. What were they talking about? The cloaked man seemed even more frightening than Mirloc, which scared both of them to a chill, because both of them knew that Mirloc was evil through and through, he was not the type to be scared easily.

And the moment the trigger from the blaster was pulled, making contact with Mirloc, that's when their worst fears came out. Kat's eyes and mouth both widened. "….Oh my…. I don't- I don't believe it!" Her heart nearly skipped a beat.

"It can't be…" Cruger couldn't believe his eyes, but the moment the blast made contact with Mirloc, the body shimmered to reveal another body, that of a Mimican, very much like the one the Rangers had faced called Slate, who ironically Mirloc had led them to. After that was when all hell broke lose, Lt. Logan stormed in with his cadets, and the cloaked figure went on a gruesome killing spree, blood splattered all over the place and begging for mercy played out, but the cloaked man showed no sympathy as he killed everyone, no one was left standing. And for a brief, all too quick moment the cloaked figure turned around, staring directly at the camera, and that's when through the darkened cloak, they saw two glowing eyes.

"Doggie?" Kat turned to her old and trusted friend. "…You don't think?"

"Damnit!" he roared as he slammed his fist down. "We never recaptured him…"

The video feed then switched back to Corbett, whose face was grim, knowing that this would be troubling to Cruger_. "I'm sorry, sir. …I know this must come as a shock to you."_

"Yes. Very much indeed." Cruger sighed heavily. "I underestimated Mirloc; he is far more powerful than I ever thought."

_"He fooled all of us, Commander…."_

"Yes, but I should have seen it. I should have known the moment he was able to provide information about Slate that it was all part of his plan to escape." But that wasn't even the most troubling thing about this situation. "…And now I may have condemned Sky to death."

"Doggie, you should call Eric, tell him what's going on." Kat knew that Mirloc would be coming after Sky and wouldn't stop until the young Red Ranger was dead.

_"….I'm afraid there is more, sir?"_

"What could be worse than this?" asked Kat.

_"….I was just contacted by Dr. Zaskin from Earth, she told me that certain files in the database were hacked into and stolen at Bio-Lab…"_

"What kind of data?" asked Kat, knowing that Bio-Lab had some very important data and if they fell into the wrong hands it could be a catastrophe.

_"The kind that could alter history…"

* * *

_

The last call Eric was expecting to get early in the morning, nine o'clock to be exact, was from Holly Zaskin. She was Mike Zaskin's twenty-eight year old daughter, who four years ago had joined Bio-Lab's top team of scientists alongside her father, who happened to be his C.O. partner in the ownership of the company. "What?" Eric exclaimed into the phone, as he walked circles around the living room. "Are you sure…"

"Daddy, you keep blocking my TV show!" whined little Wes, as he tried to look around his father to watch his show.

"Shut-up Wes, can't you see daddy is on a very important phone call?" announced twelve year old Erin, as she sat in a chair reading her book.

"Be quiet, Erin!"

"Now I remember why I went to the academy," muttered Megan, in annoyance at her brother and sister's bickering, as she set plates around the dinning room table for their guests.

_Ding. Ding. _"Megan, could you please get the door, it's probably Tommy and Chase," Hayley called out from the kitchen, as she was getting their breakfast all prepared.

"Sure thing…" Megan answered as she set the last plate down and headed towards the door. When she opened it, not only did she find her favorite uncle and new-found brother, but Drake and Jenny as well. "Morning, everyone."

"Jenny!" cried Wes, as he came running over to the group, excited to see his sister's friend.

"Hey, she's my friend, bugger-breath!" Erin exclaimed, as she pulled Wes a few feet away from Jenny and took her friend's hand. "Come on, Jenny, I'll show you my new dress that my daddy bought me."

"Okay!" Together the two young girls headed towards the stairs with young Wes chasing after them.

"Hey, wait for me!"

"See what you've got to look forward to?" said Megan, eyeing Chase with a grin.

"…Oh they can't be that bad," grinned Chase.

"Hey Megan, is Sky around?" asked Drake, wanting to be able to talk to Sky before they all sat down to have breakfast, considering how their last conversation had gone all those months ago.

"….Ah, that might be kind of hard to do, since-" Megan's words were lost with her father's frustrated call.

"How could this happen? I thought that our security measures are up to date!" He ran his hand over his face, knowing that this wasn't good. The kind of information that had been taken wasn't the kind you wanted to be getting out, especially in the wrong hands.

"Problem at the company?" asked Tommy as they all walked inside, closing the door behind them.

"Yeah. I guess sometime early this morning some data was stolen, he's been on the phone all morning."

"What kind of data?" asked Drake, slightly concerned. He knew well enough that Bio-Lab still did contain information about the future he came from, information he knew would become troubling if it ever fell into the wrong hands or was used in the wrong way.

Over the years Megan had overheard a few conversations her parents had had with Drake, even one when she learned that years ago he had once been known as Alex Drake and not as Drake Alexander, as she knew him today. All she knew for sure was that there was something about him, that he had some big secret that only her parents knew about. She had also figured that he might be CIA or some other top secret ops. One time she had even tried to find information on him online, but could find nothing, almost as if he didn't exist. "I…I don't know, he wouldn't say."

Just as Megan finished her sentence Chase's Ranger morpher began to beep. Three sets of eyes fell onto him as he answered it. "This is Lt. Ryder, go ahead…" In the pit of his stomach, he knew that Cruger would not be contacting him unless it was an emergency, and he had a feeling in the back of his mind that whatever Cruger might be contacting him about, might be somehow related to what Eric was talking about on the phone.

_"Chase, I need you to report back to the academy immediately. Something urgent has come up and I require your assistance…"_

"Okay. I'll get there as fast as I can …but Sky isn't here…"

_"It would be better that he doesn't come and remains where he is."_

"Why?" Chase was very aware of all the looks everyone was giving because of that statement; by now they had even been joined by Hayley who was sending concerned glances both at her son and Eric, who was still on the phone with Holly, but apparently had overheard what Cruger had told Chase.

_"…Everyone is standing around you, aren't they…." _Cruger didn't even need Chase to answer him. He knew well enough that they were standing around. And though he didn't like it, he did owe them all an explanation for his reasoning of not wanting Sky involved, not to mention the fact that it would be all over the news once word got out. _"Just a short time ago, I was informed by Captain Corbett that Varanox 12 …was attacked, all officers and cadets, including prisoners, were murdered. But I'm afraid it gets much worse, it seems that for these last several months the prisoner who we thought was Mirloc turned out not to be him…."_

The room was dead silent, the only sound that could be heard was the phone dropping from Eric's hands and hitting the ground. "Sir, are you saying Mirloc's at large?"

_"Yes… But I'm afraid that it doesn't end there, it seems that Mirloc hacked into Bio-Lab's systems and stole information regarding time travel. Kat and I believe that Mirloc plans to travel time…."_

"To do what?"

_"We're not sure, that's why we need you to come back to the academy…"_ There was a short pause. _"….But you do know where Sky is though, right?"_

Eric's face turned white as a ghost, not having any idea where Sky could be. He had hoped that Sky had just taken off to blow off some steam and would return to the cabin, but that was late last night and no one had seen or heard from him since.

* * *

Sky stirred awake as he felt little drops of water hit his face. He slowly opened his eyes, unsure of his surroundings, he had a headache and everything was blurry around him. "Hey kid, you okay?" asked a man hovering over him, as he splashed more water into Sky's face.

"Huh…. What?" Sky muttered, still feeling the effects of his drinking spree.

"Must have been one hell of a party you went to, but you are on private property, kid."

Sky shook his head as he ran his hand over his face, trying to get a sense of his surroundings. His memory was a little fuzzy. He pushed himself up, wobbling a little, and blinked his eyes a few times to get a better picture of where he was. "I'm not on private property…." Sky leaned against the wall as he tried to get a hold of himself. "…This house belongs to my family."

The man, who appeared to be some sort of gardener, looked at Sky strangely. "Nobody has lived in this house ever since Alec Collins died…"

"Yeah. Well, I've been away for a while." Sky eyed him sharply. "…Look, he was my grandfather, okay, so you don't have to call the cops. In fact I am the cops, I'm with SPD."

"….Schulyer." The man chuckled to himself. "I thought you looked familiar, it's been a while."

"Yeah." Sky really wasn't in the mood to go down memory lane with the gardener that he supposed had known him from childhood. "Look, you wouldn't happen to have a key by any chance? I left mine back at my apartment in Newtech City."

"Yeah, sure." He pulled the key out of his pocket and opened the door for Sky. The Myers family had left him in charge of keeping the house up, making sure the lawn was taken care of and so on. "…You okay, you seem-"

"I'm fine," Sky quickly answered as he walked through the front door. "Thanks for opening the door."

Once inside, Sky headed upstairs to take a shower, just letting the hot water pour over his body, hoping to get rid of the headache that was pounding in his head and the sickly feeling in his stomach. He knew he had overdone it; he had never consumed that much alcohol before, but at the time it was the only thing that seemed to help with his anger and frustration with everything that was going on: his relationship with Syd, his issues with Cruger and Chase, and then finding out that his whole life had been one big lie. He had so much on his plate that he felt like his mind was going to explode.

Sky turned off the water and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist before stepping in front of the mirror. Even with the shower he was a mess; his eyes were reddened from the drinking and the rough night of sleeping outside on the cold ground. He splashed some water on his face, trying to get rid of that look, when he looked up. He saw an even more frightening view of himself. _"You really are a pathetic sight there, Tate…" _He heard himself sneer. _"…You're not even worthy of being called a Red Ranger."_

"Shut the hell up!" Sky yelled as he smashed the mirror with his fist, shattering it. The horrifying reflection of himself in the mirror was gone, but now had been replaced with several images of himself, with the same look, staring at his now bleeding hand, breathing heavily. Sky sighed as he raised his hand to the sink, picking out the pieces of glass in his hand and then wrapping it with a towel. He entered into the bedroom to get dressed, all the while ignoring the ringing sound from his phone, telling him he had messages.

Once dressed, Sky walked down the stairs into the living room. He had wrapped his hand up with some gauze that he had found in the bathroom. He took a moment to look around the large living room, a place now that only reminded him of the lies that had been told to him. It seemed as though his whole life had been one betrayal after another. His eyes fell onto a family photo, one that had been taken just a few weeks before his father had been murdered by Mirloc, but now he didn't know what to think of the people in the photo. He wasn't sure how they could have cared about him, they hardly knew him, but most of all ….the part that made him the most angry and upset was the fact that he wasn't sure if he really loved them or if it was just put into his head. Snapped out of his thoughts by the ringing of his phone, Sky took his phone off his belt and looked at the screen. It was Eric.

The phone continued to ring; for the last hour and even more Eric had been trying to get a hold of him and for a moment he was considering answering the phone, at least to tell Eric that he was all right and not to call him but… then in the slight reflection in the phone, he saw a flash of his reflection, but changed slightly, like before in the bathroom. _"….Don't answer it… You don't need him… We both know you're better off on your own… Besides, why would anyone want you anyways…"_

Frightened by what had just happened Sky flung his phone across the room, hitting the wall, completely breaking his phone into pieces. He took a few quick breaths and ran his hand over his face, thinking that perhaps he was hallucinating. "I've got to get out of here…."

* * *

"Have you been able to get a trace of him, Kat?" asked Cruger, as he hovered behind her. Years ago, back when Mirloc had first been arrested for the murder of Wesley Collins, they had implanted a tracking device in him with which they could monitor his whereabouts. It had been nearly forgotten but going over old records showed that he had in fact been placed with an old tracking device. They just hoped that Mirloc had been unsuccessful in removing it and that if he had traveled to the past they would be able to pick up where he had gone.

"…No. The signal is weak; one second he's there the next he is gone." Kat sighed heavily as she typed into the computer quickly. "What I'm going to try to do is to create a transport link through the device that Mirloc has stolen from Bio-Lab and link it to our device that you'll give Chase to go after him." She turned to Doggie. "It won't be exact. They will be in the same time, but the location may be off slightly. So in theory, what should happen is that anytime Mirloc travels to another time period Chase will be thrown into that time also."

"…Sir!" announced Chase as he promptly walked into the room. "Reporting for duty."

"Good, you're here." Cruger left Kat to her work on the computer and walked up to Chase to debrief him on what would be going on. "Right now Kat is working on a device that should allow you to follow Mirloc through time and bring him in. Now there are a few things I need to go over with you about time travel, as it is not usually practiced in training."

"…Of course, sir."

"…Is something going on?" asked Z as she and Bridge walked into the Command Center. "…We were told that the base is under a red alert."

"Yes it is, but I need to speak with Chase alone regarding a mission I will be sending him on."

"What kind of mission?" asked Z, not liking the sound of Cruger's voice or the look on Chase's face: something was up.

"An important mission that may require him to travel through time, but he will be going alone on this mission." He eyed the two carefully. "The rest of you will remain here, I cannot afford having all the Rangers involved on this mission."

"Something bad happened, didn't it?" questioned Bridge. "….Because normally isn't it the Red Ranger who goes on standalone missions ….did something happen to Sky?"

"I can assure you that for the moment Sky is fine, but due to certain circumstances he cannot be involved in this mission." He eyed the two hard. "Now if you two will excuse us, I must brief Chase."

Without another word both Z and Bridge left the Command Center, both knowing that more was going on here than Cruger was beginning to tell them. They entered into the common room, where they found a large group of cadets surrounding a TV.

"Grant, what's going on?" asked Z, as she and Bridge headed over to them to see what all the commotion was about.

"I think I know why we're under a red alert…"

The Yellow and Blue Rangers turned to the TV, and their eyes widened as they watched the galactic news report. "This is not good," exclaimed Bridge, now understanding why Cruger did not want Sky to be involved.

"Sky's going to be pissed when he hears about this," exclaimed Z.

* * *

"Why'd you lie to me?" Sky exclaimed as he stood in front of his father's gravestone. "How could you even look at yourself in the mirror everyday, knowing you were lying to your son?" Maybe he was being rash, acting like a crazy man, standing there in front of his father's grave, a place that was supposed to be meaningful and peaceful, but at the moment all he wanted to do was scream and shout at the man –he couldn't. No, his father had died long before he could ever tell him the truth.

The hard-head, stone wall Red Ranger struggled to control himself, pushing back his tears, not wanting to break down. He wanted to be angry; he wanted to be furious with his father for lying to him, for never telling him the truth. "You should have told me!" He took a deep breath. "Damnit, Dad! You should have been the one to tell me." Sky clenched his hands tightly together, just wanting to punch at something –anything. "Not some guy that I don't even remember, hell, I don't even know you." He was breaking apart inside, a lot more than he wanted to admit. He was hurt. Hurt that his father, his hero, the man he had looked up to and wanted to be just like, never told him the truth. "….I don't know anything that's real about my life anymore…."

Slowly Sky made his way back to the parking lot where he had parked his father's old motorcycle. Since his car was in Reefside and his bike was in the shop in Newtech, it was his only way of getting around. He was about to get on the bike and drive off, when his ears caught the sound of an alien kid listening to his portable radio.

_"….Now in galactic news, SPD is under a red alert as one of the most dangerous fugitives is on the loose. Early this morning Mirloc…."_

"Kid, turn that up." Sky felt a lump in his throat as he listened to the report, hoping against hope that he had heard wrong.

_"….killed several officers and prisoners on Varanox 12 and is reported to be on Earth. Anyone that sees him should stay away from him and to contact SPD personnel…"_

"Why didn't anyone call me?" Sky hopped onto the bike, and once his helmet was placed tightly on his head he sped off.

* * *

"Now, it is important to limit yourself from any contacts you may run into." Cruger knew he had to be very straightforward with Chase. Time was a fragile thing, especially when the time he was sending him to would be the past. "…Anything you say or do could have drastic results." He nodded to Kat, who in her hand held a small device that looked like some sort of gun, but not a typical blaster. "…If you should run into problems, use this memory wiper gun. It will erase the memory of any contact anyone had with you, but then you must make a quick exit."

"Yes, sir," answered Chase, understanding the situation as he took the device from Kat and placed it on the other side of his harness. "When do we get started?"

"…You will be leaving in under an hour."

Chase nodded his head, knowing as much as Cruger and Kat that this was a very dangerous and risky mission, one he might not be able to come back from. But it was his duty as a Ranger and officer to bring Mirloc in and prevent him from doing any damage in the past.

Sky arrived back at the academy in a flash after he had heard the report about Mirloc; he had sped all the way back to Newtech City. He stormed down the hall of the academy like a man on a mission. He didn't even notice Sydney who was just a few feet up ahead of him, as she headed toward him in a rush, her face urgent. "….Sky, I _need_ to talk to you…." She had just gotten to the academy a few minutes ago. She hadn't expected to see Sky, since last she knew he was still in Reefside, but she was glad to see him because she really needed to talk to him.

"Not now, Sydney." Sky moved past her as he turned down the hall in the direction to where the Command Center was. He wasn't in the mood to deal with her or anything that was going on between them right now; all he cared about was dealing with the Mirloc problem.

"But Sky, it's important… I think that-"

Frustrated and pissed off with the fact that Mirloc was loose and no one had contacted him on the morpher to let him know, he turned to her angrily, taking all his aggression and fury out on her. "Look, I don't have time for your damn petty problems, all right?! …I have more important things to deal with than _you_ right now." He looked at her hard, a look that could send chills down your spine. "So just leave me alone, Sydney." With that said he went back on his way, leaving Syd alone, tears in her eyes and her heart shattered.

"Why the hell didn't you contact me!" roared Sky, as he marched into the Command Center to find both Cruger and Kat standing around Chase, looking as though they were preparing for something big. He eyed Chase and watched as Kat placed some sort of device on his wrist, whether he was more angry or hurt he didn't know as he turned to Cruger. "Mirloc is on the loose, and you call _him_…."

"Given your prior history with Mirloc, I thought it best to call Chase and assign him to bring Mirloc back in." He locked his eyes with the angry young man. "It was nothing personal-"

"Nothing personal!" Sky raised his voice. "He killed-" He tensed up, feeling his anger burn through him. "…I was the one that let him escape in the first place. It should be me that brings him in."

"I'm sorry Sky, but I cannot allow you to go on this mission." Cruger stepped forward so he was face to face with Sky. "Given your emotional state, you would only be a danger to yourself and everyone else."

Chase gripped Cruger's shoulder, letting him know he had it from here. He looked at Sky sympathetically. "Look, I get it Sky, I understand, but we both know that when it comes to Mirloc you can't think straight." He stepped in front of his teammate, gripping his shoulder. "I promise you, I will get him for you. You have my word."

"I don't give a shit!" Sky shoved Chase's arm off of him. "….I won't let you take this from me!" He grabbed a hold of Chase's wrist where the device was. "I'll be the one bringing Mirloc in." He looked Chase hard in the eyes. "Not you…"

"Sky, stop this; you're being irrational." Chase tried to fight Sky off of him, but couldn't.

"Sky, stop this at once!" ordered Cruger.

Kat's eyes lit as she saw that in the process of Sky's trying to yank the device off of Chase's wrist, he had activated it. "Oh no…" Before anyone could do anything, in a bright blue flash both Sky and Chase disappeared.

Cruger's eyes widened in fear, this was not good. Not good at all. Not only had Kat not been able to finish putting the last finishing touches on the time travel device, but now they had two Rangers missing. They could be anywhere in time and one of them was a high-risk factor right now. "Kat…"

"I'm already on it." Kat rushed to her computer, hoping to pinpoint where they could be, but the signal was weak and vanishing. "I'm losing them." Her heart pounded against her chest as she turned to Doggie. "…They could be anywhere, Doggie, and I don't know if I'll be able to get them back…"


	23. The Alteration

* * *

"….Kat, alert the Rangers," exclaimed Cruger, knowing that he needed to inform them of the situation. It wouldn't be long before someone would notice both Sky and Chase missing, _literally_. Not to mention the fact that it would be a little easier informing them than getting in contact with Eric and letting him know what was going on, a call he was not going to be looking forward to, especially in the light of the situation with Chase being Eric's wife's son.

Kat nodded her head and spoke into the intercom. "Rangers, report to the command base…"

Not even a minute later, Z and Syd followed by Bridge, who was moving steadily on his crutches, entered into the Command Center, all looking alert and ready ….or for the most part. Sydney appeared upset, but did her best to keep her emotions under control knowing that the Command Center was no place for her to break down crying over Sky.

Z stepped forward, not seeing either of the squad leaders present. "You wanted to see us, Commander Cruger…."

"Yes…" He clasped his hands behind his back and glanced at Kat briefly before turning back to his Rangers. "I am afraid I must inform you that both Sky and Chase have gone missing…."

A trace of concern crossed Syd's face, but she remained quiet, not saying a word, just staring blankly like she wasn't sure how to react to this information. She had just seen Sky a short time ago and he had been an ass to her.

"When you say missing, you mean that we just have to go out and find them, right?" asked Bridge. "Like we just have to use their morphers and track them…"

"…It's a little more complicated than that," Kat announced, stepping in, knowing that situations like these involving the lives of his Rangers were not easy for Cruger to explain.

"Wh-what do you mean?" asked Z, looking to both Kat and Cruger. "You said that you were sending Chase on a mission. How do you not know where he is?" She watched as the two shared another glance with each other, which was something that was starting to get on their nerves. They were not children, if something was wrong they needed to know and they needed to know _now_. "…Sorry if I'm out of line here, but I don't really care. Something is going on here; Bridge and I saw the news report, we know about Mirloc…"

"…Doggie," started Kat.

"Yes, Z, Mirloc does have something to do with it…." He knew she had every right to say what she did, he couldn't protect them, as much as he wanted to, he couldn't. "Mirloc traveled somewhere in time… I was going to send Chase to go get him, but Sky showed up and complicated things before Kat could put the last finishing touches to the tracker of the time device…."

"Are you trying to tell us they're…." Bridge eyes widened, wanting to make sure he was understanding this perfectly clearly. "…lost somewhere in time?"

"Yes…" Cruger answered, knowing there was no easier or lighter way he could have said it.

"….But we can get them back, right? You know where to find them, right?" asked Z.

"...It's not that easy…" Kat started, but only to be interrupted by Z, very close to losing it.

"Can't we just go after them…"

"Time travel is very complicated and none of you were ever really trained for it. You were the first to ever use our time travel technology, but I don't even know where or when they are…." Kat took a deep breath. "…For all I know they could have landed on another planet in another time."

"So what are we going to do then?" asked Bridge. "…You're not just going to leave them there….are you?"

"I will be contacting Eric Myers who is more familiar with time travel than I am. Once I know more, you will be the first to know," announced Cruger.

"What are we supposed to do in the meantime?" asked Z.

"We wait…." Kat answered, knowing very well that wasn't the answer Z was looking for, but it was the only one she could provide at the moment. There was little the Rangers could do.

_**Somewhere in the past….**_

A bright light flashed in the darkened sky, as Chase and Sky dropped to the ground hard. Both of them were dazed and confused at their surroundings, not to mention the fact they each had a splitting headache from their little trip.

"Where are we?" Sky looked around, trying to get a sense of his surroundings, but all he saw was destructions, darkness and off in the distance he could hear the faint sound of blaster fire and explosions. There was not one standing building as far as he could see, the sky was dark, lightning flashed brightly as thunder rolled on. It was a horrifying sight indeed. "What happened here…."

Chase pushed himself up and dusted his uniform pants off and glared at Sky angrily. "Well, if you weren't being such a stubborn ass about Cruger's orders, we wouldn't be here."

"Excuse me?" Sky glared at his teammate angrily. "You're saying this is my fault?" he snapped, getting into Chase's face, getting ready to beat the snot out of him.

"Nothing gets by you, does it?' remarked Chase, as he looked at the time wrist watch Kat had given him. "Yes, this is your fault! Thanks to you the calibration of the time device is off, so I don't have a damn idea where we are or how we're going to get home."

"Don't be putting the blame on me." Sky gave him a hard stern look. "….If Cruger had just assigned me to the mission I would already be back now, _with_ Mirloc."

Chase just shook his head, not believing how Sky was trying to pin all of this on him while totally oblivious to the fact of _his_ own part into this whole predicament. "You're so full of yourself, Tate…"

"You better watch what you say, I'm your superior officer." Sky crossed his arms against his chest.

"You're really going to use that shit on me? When you basically hijacked your way into this mission." He wasn't about to take any of Sky's crap, not when he knew for a fact that Sky was the one who had messed up here, not him.

"That does it! I've had it up to here with you," exclaimed Sky, raising his hand. He was about to strike Chase when two figures came running towards them through the dark smoke.

"Get down!" shouted a voice, as he tackled both of them to the ground. The moment they all dropped to the ground a loud explosion blew over their heads. Slowly he lifted his head up and looked over his shoulder, seeing a dust of dark black smoke. "Are you two okay?" And that's when he got a better look at them, he was more than a little surprised, as if he hadn't expected to run into them, of all people. He was about to say something when…

"…Carlos, we have to hurry, they're right behind me!" exclaimed Cassie, the pink Ranger, who came running towards them and then noticed the two young men who were lying near her teammate, the black Ranger.

Carlos pushed himself up from the ground, both Sky and Chase would soon follow, both of them shocked as well. They each shared a concerned glance with each other, not because of what time they were in, but just _where_ they were. "…Ah shit!" muttered Chase, knowing that this was not a good thing. "…We're on Sirius."

"And not at the best time to be on it," added Sky, knowing very well how this day would end. It would end with the defeat of Sirius, along with the deaths of the very two Rangers who were now before them.

"Who are you two?" asked Carlos, staring at both of them. "…My teammates and I are the only humans on this planet." And as far as he knew, no one had sent for any reinforcements. He needed to be sure that the two were on their side; they were in the middle of a war right now and now was not the time to have new guys showing up out of nowhere.

"Carlos…" Cassie's voice was full of shock as she stared the two young men down, seeing that Chase was wearing an SPD uniform, far different than the uniform she had seen, and Sky was wearing a red SPD t-shirt and a pair of dark grey pants. "…Look, they're SPD," she pointed out, only being able to assume that they were on their side and were here to help them.

"But that's impossible, no one else came with us." He glanced at her and then looked back at them. "I don't even recognize them." He quickly drew his blaster and pointed it at the two. "So again, who the hell are you two?" Both Sky and Chase glanced at each other, knowing that anything they said about themselves could do more harm than good, especially if it was the truth. While neither of the two had ever really met them, they did know people who had worked closely with them, Sky's father being one of them. Sky knew that both Carlos and Cassie knew just who Sky Tate was. "I'm waiting…" ordered Carlos.

"We are with SPD," exclaimed Sky. "….You can trust us."

"What branch are you part of?" asked Cassie. As far as she could tell they were indeed human and there were only about four or so planets that she knew of that had human inhabits, each with its own SPD base. "….Are you part of the KO-5 Delta Base?"

"Do you want to know what branch of SPD we belong to or do you want to get our asses kicked by those krybots that are heading our way?" announced Chase, knowing that that at any moment Gruumm's army would attack them. Now was not the time to be asking twenty-questions, especially when they were questions he did not want to be answering.

"We'll settle this later," exclaimed Carlos as he turned to meet the oncoming army, knowing that the newcomer was right; they needed to deal with the krybots first. He and Cassie stood side by side, getting into their fighting positions, preparing for yet another battle since the attacks had first began. There was no denying they were tired, they were hurting and they knew they wouldn't be able to last for much longer, but they couldn't let their aches and pains stop them, not when the enemy was on the attack.

Chase and Sky stood next to each other, glancing briefly at each other, knowing they were in a bad situation. "…We can't morph," whispered Sky, keeping his voice down, knowing that if they morphed that would raise too many questions. "That would more than definitely blow our cover."

"We shouldn't even be here," answered Chase. "You do know what's supposed to happen here." He kept his eyes locked on the pink and black Rangers in front of them who stood ready and willing for the threat heading their way. "…To _them_."

"Of course I know, everyone does," answered Sky. "….But what the hell are we supposed to do, just leave them?"

"Anything we do here could have a huge impact on the future." Which was something that Cruger had warned him very well about, though he didn't like the idea of just leaving the two just to fend for themselves. He knew that something even worse could happen if they joined this fight, but as the army of Krybots jumped over the pink and black Rangers to face both him and Sky, they would have no choice but to join in on the fight; keeping history in order would have to come later.

"Let's do this." Sky tightened his fists together as he threw a punch right at one of the Krybots.

* * *

Z entered into the bathroom, where she heard the soft sound of whimpering and muffling cries. "Hello?" She tried to pinpoint which stall the sounds were coming from. "….Is everything okay?"

"…I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"_Sydney_?" Z had found the stall and pushed open the door, to find Syd huddled in a corner, her eyes red from crying, her face a mess because all the crying she had done messed up her makeup. "Sydney, what's wrong?" asked Z as she knelt down in front of her friend, who was a really pitiful sight.

"Nothing…." She turned her head away shamefully. "…Just please go…"

"I'm not leaving you." Z pulled off a piece of toilet paper and used to clean Syd's face the best she could. "Not until you tell me what's wrong." Several minutes passed with no answer, but Z had a pretty good idea what the problem was. "…Does it have to do with Sky?"

Syd turned to face her friend, her face sad and brokenhearted just at the mention of his name. "I tried talking to him, to tell him that…." She turned away, ashamed. "…but he blew me off." Heartbreak was in her voice and she was on the verge of crying all over again. "…He's never been so cold like that ….not to me." Sure he's overreacted and yelled at her before, but this time was different from all the other times. This time the sound of Sky's voice, the look on his face, made her feel like she didn't matter to him at all. And though she figured Sky's attitude had a lot to do with Mirloc, that still didn't take away the pain and heartache she was feeling now.

Z wrapped her arm around Syd, pulling her into a hug, knowing that right now the best thing she could do is be there for her. Beating up Sky for being an idiot fool would come later. "I'm here, Sydney; I won't blow you off or get mad. You can tell me what's wrong."

Syd took a deep breath and bit her lip, before she uttered these two words: "…I'm late." She bowed her head down, not being able to look Z in the face. Afraid of what she might see.

"Do you know for sure?" asked Z, knowing there was always the possibility that she wasn't pregnant. Sydney shook her head, never in her whole life had she ever been so afraid and the one person she wanted the most to help her through it wouldn't even give her the time of day. "Come on." Z stood up, taking Syd's hand. "….We'll go see Kat." She gave a reassuring smile. "It'll be okay Syd, no matter what…"

The two slowly walked into Kat's lab. She was working, trying to see if she could get a lock on Sky and Chase's whereabouts, but was getting nowhere fast. She sighed heavily and looked up to see both Z and Syd standing not far from the door. Z was holding onto Syd's hand as she urged her friend over to Kat. Syd was more than just terrified, she looked petrified. She didn't know what was worse, the not knowing or the knowing.

"Is there something wrong, girls?" asked Kat, though now wasn't the best time for more problems to be on the rise. She could clearly see that something was bothering Sydney, even when she had seen her in the Command Center. She could tell that something was bothering the young pink Ranger, at first she thought it had to do with Sky's disappearance, but now she was sure it had to do with a lot more than just that.

Syd made no attempt to even say it. She turned her head away, as if she were ashamed of what Kat would think of her. Z smiled faintly back at Kat, knowing she didn't need to say anything; Kat would understand and know what was going on. She was just here as a friendly hand and moral support for Sydney. "…It'll be okay, Syd. You'll see…."

Kat sighed heavily, knowing very well what was going on here. This had been the one thing that had concerned her since Sky and Sydney had gotten together, but now wasn't the time for lecturing. What Sydney needed now was answers and to know that no matter what, everything was going to be okay. "…Come on, we can do the test here."

* * *

"They're where?!" Eric raised his voice, which drew several glances from his family and two friends who were sitting in the living room with them, while they all watched a movie.

It had been a good few hours since Chase had left after getting a call from Cruger to return to the academy, after which Eric, Tommy and Drake had gone out in search of Sky, but came back empty handed. "….What do you mean you don't know?" He ran his hand over his face, feeling an enormous amount of frustration come over him. "….Yeah, I did." He got up from the couch and started to walk restlessly throughout the living room, which only caused concern to grow from the occupants. "But that was a long time ago. ….Look what I went through was an open portal and that's how I got back home." He ran his hand over the back of his neck. "I don't have the knowledge to deal with this problem, but…" He licked his lips as he turned back to face everyone who was now staring at him questioningly, all wondering what the commotion was all about. He locked his eyes right onto Drake. "I know someone who does… Yeah, we can be there right away."

"Eric, what's the problem?" asked Hayley, seeing the deep concern in his eyes. "….Is Chase okay?"

"Something happened to Chase?" asked Wes as he jumped to his feet, his voice full of worry for his new found big brother.

"I'm sure everything's fine, buddy," coaxed Megan to her brother and then eyed Erin and Jenny. "Girls, why don't you take the squirt out back to play on the swing?" She could tell just by the sound of her father's voice when he was on the phone that something was very wrong, and it would probably be easier dealt with if her little brother wasn't in the room.

"….Okay." Though Erin didn't want to, she knew that it probably would be best to keep her kid brother out of the _so called adult _business that needed to be taken care of. Both she and Jenny took Wes by a hand and took him out back to play.

With the kids gone, Tommy stepped forward, recognizing the serious and troubled look in Eric's eyes. "What's the verdict, Eric?"

There would be no easy way of saying it; he couldn't downplay it even if he wanted to. "….Chase's mission was to go back in time to catch Mirloc, but before he left Sky showed up; there was a struggle and before Kat could set the correct alignments, they traveled through time."

Hayley felt like her heart had stopped dead right where she stood; she didn't know a lot about time travel, but she knew enough to guess where Eric was going with this. "They don't know where they went, do they?"

"No." Eric shook his head. "….And they don't have the technology or the knowledge to find them."

"I thought there wasn't supposed to be any type of experiments or even the technology to do it for hundreds of years…" announced Tommy, recalling both Jen and Drake talking about it years earlier.

"There isn't supposed to be." Drake finally spoke up, entering into the conversation and being the only person who had the most knowledge and training for time travel. "..But there was evidence that time travel had taken place even before Time Force started experimenting with it."

"…So will you be able to help them?" asked Eric.

Both Hayley and Tommy turned to Drake, knowing he might be their last hope of getting Chase and Sky back home in one piece. Drake sighed heavily, knowing they all were counting on him. This was what he knew best, this is what he had trained for all those years ago. But… "….It won't be that simple." He licked his lips. "I still have my time watch device, which is very much like the one that Chase is wearing, but I won't be able to use it to find them…"

"So what are you saying?" announced Megan, jumping in; she wanted to know what was the fate of the people she considered to be her older big brothers. She wasn't about to lose either one of them.

"I need to go to the academy, talk with the Commander and his head scientist." Drake looked them all hard in the eyes, knowing the situation was very grave for more than one reason. For now he would have to keep that to himself, at least until he had a better handle on what was going on here. "…You all better keep your fingers crossed."

**Sirius- mid 2007**

Carlos, the black Ranger, wasn't sure how much time had gone by. A few minutes? A couple of hours? He couldn't tell by the blackened sky - due to the heavy, smoke filled surroundings which made it almost impossible to breathe. The once beautiful grass-filled meadow had been completely destroyed; most of the grass and flowers had been burnt to a crisp, covered now in blood and dead bodies. The trees that once stood tall were no longer standing. The few small buildings around them had broken-in walls and now were burning, filling the sky with smoke.

It didn't seem to matter how many they had taken down, it was relentless, more just kept on, coming in a killing spree, destroying everything in sight.

The last time he remembered they were under this kind of pressure was back when the command center had been destroyed, when he and his friends nearly lost their lives. For a moment Carlos thanked God that Justin wasn't with them this time, as he looked around the dead bodies that lay around him. All brave Sirius warriors who had fought bravely right to the very end. Carlos' only hope was that he could do the same. He made a promise to himself that he would fight to his very last breath, until the life was pulled right from him. He would not stop fighting.

"Carlos, I need your help!" cried out Cassie.

"Hang on, Cass, I'm coming!" Carlos used his blaster and blasted at the enemies around him, taking only a few down and slowing down the others. He moved faster than he ever had before and joined Cassie, side-kicking and punching the surrounding Bluehead Krybots away from her, but they weren't about to go down so easily.

"Thanks. I thought they almost had me."

"You okay?" His voice was full of concern, knowing they had been fighting for so long, nonstop, without even getting a chance to take a quick breather.

"Yeah." She took a moment to gather her breath.

"What about you two?" asked Carlos, taking a quick glance at Chase and Sky, who had stuck by them the whole time, even when the Sirius warriors that had joined up with them in the fight had all been struck down one after another.

"…I'm good," announced Chase, as he took a deep breath. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest; this battle reminded him all too much of a battle in which he had watched his whole team perish before his eyes.

Sky took a deep breath and wiped the blood off the side of his mouth where he had taken a hard punch. This had to be one of the toughest and most dangerous battles he had ever faced. And the more time that went by, the closer he knew it was coming. _The final strike_. "…You guys just worry about yourselves."

"Let's finish this once and for all!" announced Carlos, as he and Cassie geared up, but they were a second too late as an Orangehead Krybot joined the scene and blasted right at them before they could move to avoid the blast. Carlos and Cassie had heard their friends calling their names, Chase had managed to jump out of the way, taking Sky with him, but Carlos and Cassie weren't so lucky. They had taken the blast straight on.

Cassie and Carlos hit the ground hard, harder than they ever had before, both of them could hear their teammates crying out their names, trying to get to them, but couldn't. Both of their powers began to fade in and out. They could feel their hearts racing, knowing that if they stayed demorphed they wouldn't stand a chance. It would be the end of them, for both of them.

"No, not now! I'm not ready!" Carlos cried, trying to stay in control, but he was failing. The battle had worn him down. He was losing control and soon started to feel the painful effects of a forced demorph. A quick look towards Cassie showed she was in the same state. The blast had been too much for them to handle, and not a minute later the two were back in their SPD uniforms, now torn into pieces and bloody.

Both of them attempted to push themselves to their feet, but fell right back down. They couldn't move. They couldn't fight. It was over, it really was over. They would die in battle; die as heroes, as Power Rangers. It would be an honorable death, but that still didn't take away the pain and the fear they both felt, for those they would be leaving behind.

Chase and Sky both looked up and watched as the orange-head was getting ready to strike again, this time for the kill. This was it, the moment when both the pink and black Rangers would die, the first of the Rangers. Chase heard a noise from his wrist, he looked at his watch, a series of numbers were counting down, starting with 30. "…Oh no, the fall must have activated the time travel."

But Sky didn't even bother to listen, he locked his eyes on the orange-head and then to the fallen Rangers before him. Not even thinking, Sky jumped in front of Cassie and used his force shield to protect her from the blast. He had tried to spread it out to protect Carlos, but was unsuccessful in doing so. The young leader of the future of SPD struggled with all his might to keep the powerful blast at bay until it simmered away into nothing. …Sadly Carlos had taken the majority of the blast, killing him on impact.

"What? That's impossible!" The orange-head was more than just a little surprised; never had he seen anything like that before.

Chase jumped to his feet, blasting straight at the orange-head, taking the Krybot down while he was distracted. "What the hell did you just do…." He looked at his watch: _20 _seconds remained.

Sky looked down at Cassie, who was in a critical state, blood was all over her body, a large cut on her head, and she was looking up at him as if she was seeing a ghost or something close. There was only one person in the whole universe who she knew could create such a powerful shield, but he was a little boy. "…Who are you?" Her eyes then closed, fading into darkness.

He knelt down, feeling for a pulse; his eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat. His eyes met with Chase's. "..She's alive, just barely."

Chase could feel his heart racing; he looked at his watch as the time went down. "…We've got to go." There was nothing he could do now; they would just have to leave Cassie as is. Whatever would happen, would happen, and time would just have to deal with it, whether for better or worse. One thing was for sure, he had no idea whether this would insure the young pink Ranger's survival or only would delay what had already happened in history.

Sky nodded his head and never said a word, just ran towards Chase, grabbing a hold of his shoulder just in the nick of time, as the two disappeared in a bright light. Andros and the others were able to make it towards their teammates to see a horrifying sight, but not before seeing the unusual bright light.

* * *

Bridge was in the SPD Academy's Memorial Chamber, just taking in the greatness of the room, feeling surrounding by heroes of all kinds and one day hoping to be just as great. Though he was the green Ranger and might not be considered one of the top best, he did feel that he was just as important as any of the other members of the team. Though the color might represent a rank, it did not mean that any color was better than the others. Every one of them had something to offer to the team.

He was getting ready to leave when his eyes fell onto a very old photo of the first SPD Earth Rangers, led by Andros. Underneath the photo was an inscription that had been placed on a plaque._ 'In honor for their bravery. You will never be forgotten, may your legacy never die.' _It was then followed by a list of names: _'Andros and Ashley Hammond, __Theodore J. Jarvis Johnson, Carlos Vallerte, Cassie Chan'_

But the more he stared at the plague and inscription, the more he slowly saw one of those names disappear out of sight. Bridge blinked his eyes a few times, but sure enough the name was gone, and for the life of him he couldn't understand why. Was he just seeing thing or had indeed Cassie Chan's name been there one moment and gone the next? Even knowing his memory of what he had learned about that day seemed altered, he was sure something was different, but at the same time, was sure it wasn't.


	24. Time Ripples

"…Eric. Good, you're here," announced Cruger as he greeted him in the Command Center. "I do wish it was under better circumstances," knowing that most of his encounters with Eric Myers had never been under good terms, something always seemed to be at stake whenever the two paths crossed.

"At least we agree on one thing," answered Eric, not at all happy that he was here, given the grave situation involving both Sky and Chase missing, lost somewhere in time.

Cruger's eyes met with Drake's; right away he could see a resemblance to Wesley Collins, but this man appeared harder than Wes Collins' relaxed, more laidback, playful appearance. "And you are…."

"Drake Alexander, I'm an old friend of Eric's." He put out his hand to shake the old dog's hand. "It is an honor to meet you, Commander Cruger." He recalled his early days back at the academy, having heard a story or two about the old Commander Cruger, though back then the Commander had long since been dead and was remembered for the greatness of what he had done with SPD.

"Eric told me over the phone that you may be able to help in locating Sky and Chase."

"I will do everything I can, sir." He bit his lip as he took a deep breath, knowing he would have to be straight with the old Commander, as to who he really was. "…The truth is, sir…" He wasn't one who liked to say too much about himself, but given the situation he saw that it was important. "I used to go by another name, many years ago….. I was once known as Alex Drake…" It had been years since he had gone by that name and at times it seemed like a lifetime ago for him.

And that's when Cruger realized where the man before him was going with this. "You're not from this time, are you?"

"No. I'm not…." He might not have been born during this time period, but this had become his home. He had made a life for himself here, with his daughter.

"You were the one who brought Sky here…"

"Yes. We came here together in 2005…."

"Do you still have…."

"I hate to interrupt, but…" Bridge entered into the room leaning against his crutches, his face looking as though he had seen a ghost. "I was just in the Memorial Chamber, and something strange happened…."

Cruger sighed, knowing that just about anything could be strange to Bridge. "Carson, this isn't the best of times for your…."

"No, let him go on," interrupted Drake, knowing that given the situation anything was possible and given what Bridge's ability was he wanted to hear it.

"….I saw Cassie Chan's name disappear from the plaque. It was there one minute and gone the next…"

"That's impossible; Cassie Chan has been on Mirinoi in a coma ever since my planet was defeated," exclaimed Cruger, finding the whole thing just nonsense. There was no way that Bridge could have seen her name on the plaque one moment and gone the next. He remembered the day they had placed it in the room and Cassie's name was nowhere near it, only her teammates who had died in battle.

"I'm afraid it might not be," answered Drake, his face white as a ghost, knowing that it was very possible that history could have been altered.

_"You're absolutely right…"_

The voice echoed throughout the whole room, everyone turned towards where the voice had come from. And that's when they saw the face of a man on the computer screen, looking back at all of them. Eric's eyes widened when he stared back at the black-haired man, he took a glance over at Drake, wanting to see his reaction.

The man on the video screen's eyes fell onto Drake, his face was hard and stern, but there was softness in his eyes, as he stared back at an old friend he'd never forgotten. _"Alex, it's been a long time."_

"…It's been a little longer for me." And it had been, more years had gone by for him than for his old friend, given the time difference of when he had arrived in the past.

"Ah, someone want to tell me what's going on here?" asked Bridge, getting the feeling that something out of this world was going on here, because his senses were going like crazy, he was picking things up all over the place and didn't know what to make of it. "Who is this guy?"

_"….I can answer that question for you, Officer Carson. My name is Captain Lucas Kendall, of the elite force known as Time Force. I am contacting you from the year 3020."_ He glared at all of them, but his eyes fell upon a very old friend, a friend he once believed was dead. _"Something is very wrong…"_

"…Did he just say the year 3020?" asked Bridge, glaring at everyone. "….as in 3020, as in the future?"

* * *

"Where are we this time?" asked Sky as he took in his surroundings. From what he could tell they were in a park, which was starting to look very familiar to him. "….I know where we are." He turned to Chase. "We're back on Earth and we're in Silver Hills." 

"Well, that's good to know," remarked Chase, glaring at his team leader.

"What the hell is your problem?" exclaimed Sky.

"You want to know what my problem is?" he exclaimed. "….You may know where we are, but we don't know what time we're in or how we're going to get back to our time. And not to mention the fact that you really screwed up back there on Sirius," knowing that if Cassie survived or if their being there had any effect on history, he didn't even want to think about what would happen. "By saving her, you could have altered history."

"I don't give a shit!" hammered Sky as he got right into Chase's face. "If anyone is going to be bringing in Mirloc it's me! It's my fault he escaped."

"And that's exactly why Cruger assigned me to this mission." He looked Sky hard in the eyes. "Face it, when it comes to Mirloc you can't think straight."

"I can think just fine." His face hardened, his fist clenched together. "I'm going to bring down Mirloc and no one is going to stop me. He's mine!" He could feel the rage inside of him building up. "And I am _not_ going to let you take that away from me…"

"You are such a blind fool." Chase just shook his head. "It's no wonder you're alone." Now fully understanding Sky's issue with him. "….You're not pissed that I turned out to be Hayley's son. …..What you're really pissed off about is you always had them, but never did anything about it. …So instead of just dealing with it, you're taking all your aggression and anger out on getting vengeance against Mirloc, because you see him as the root to all your problems!"

"He is the root to all my problems!" roared Sky. "He destroyed my life!"

"No…" Chase shook his head. "He may have messed it up, but the one that's destroying your life, is you."

"Take that back!"

"No!"

"Take it back!"

"No. It's time someone told you the truth…"

"Bastard!" Sky took a swing at Chase, punching him smack in the face, which only caused Chase to return the favor. The two started going at it, punching each other like there was no tomorrow and neither one was going to let up.

A couple minutes passed and the two felt themselves being turned about, arms grabbing a hold of them and holding them back. At first the two struggled against their holders trying to break loose, both of them took deep breaths, exhausted from their scuffle. "You two done here, or do we need to call in for reinforcements?" asked a man's voice, who was holding Chase back from Sky.

"No." Chase pulled away from his holder. "It was just a misunderstanding!"

"It didn't look that way to me," exclaimed a woman's voice, as she let go of Sky and walked around to stand next to her comrade so the two could face both Sky and Chase together. "…Now do one of you want to tell me what's going on? SPD isn't supposed to be around for another four years."

Sky's eyes widened when he stared at the young woman, his heart was pounding against his chest.

"How do you know we're from the future?" asked Chase.

Sky shook his head, knowing he had to regain control of himself; this was no time for his emotions to be getting the best of him. "….Because they're from the future, the year 3000."

"…The year 3000?"

"How the hell do you know that?" exclaimed Jen, getting into Sky's face, looking like she going to rip him apart, knowing that nobody should know that, not even some hot-shot SPD officer.

"I just do," remarked Sky, crossing his arms against his chest.

"Easy, Jen." Lucas grabbed a hold of her shoulder pulling her back slightly. "Let's hear them out."

"Yeah, Sky…" Chase turned to his teammate. "How do you know they're from the year 3000?" Wanting to know just how he could know that, it's not the type of thing that just anyone would know.

Sky sighed heavily, as his eyes fell onto Jen, his _mother_, or one day would be. He knew he couldn't tell them the whole truth and he wasn't exactly in the best of moods to get into it. "…I grew up in Silver Hills, as a child. My father was one of the Silver Guardians."

"Okay. That answers one question," remarked Jen, eyeing them as she crossed her arms against her chest, wanting to get down to business. "Now why are you here? No one should be using time travel in your time."

"…Look, we don't have to tell you anything. We can't jeopardize our futures," answered Sky.

"He's got a point, Jen…"

"No. The way I see it, you have no business being here." She glared at the young tall man before her. "….People from your time do not have the training or the experience."

"Trust me, lady, I have plenty of training and experience," remarked Sky, staring her down.

"Oh really? Well, maybe you forgot your training on obeying your superior officer." She wasn't about to back down until she got her answers and she wasn't going to let his hothead smart ass attitude get to her.

"I don't have to listen to a word you say." He widened his eyes. "The only one I have to listen to is Commander Cruger…"

"Yeah. And you listened real well to him," remarked Chase sarcastically.

"Stay out of this, Chase!" Sky turned to his teammate, not wanting him to get involved into the matter.

"No. Maybe they can help us get back home…" Thinking that if they really were from the year 3000, then they must have used something to get to the past, and perhaps they could use it to get back to their time.

"Nobody is going to be going home," hollered a voice. "….at least not alive." everyone turned around to find a purple-like man with glowing yellow eyes.

"Mirloc!" shouted Sky, his eyes glaring furiously at the monstrous beast, his fist clenching together. He wanted nothing more then to hear Mirloc begging him to spare his life.

"….Well…Well…Well… I didn't think Doggie Cruger would have sent _daddy's boy_ to come to get me, considering what happened the last time," mocked Mirloc, knowing how easily he was able to play with Sky's mind. "I should thank you for helping me with my escape."

Sky could feel himself tensing up, but he was not about to let Mirloc beat him this time. "I let my guard down, I won't make the same mistake again." This time he would not fall for any of Mirloc's tricks, this time he would make sure that his father's killer could do no more harm to anyone. He ran towards him, morphing as he jumped to face his nightmare.

"Sky!" shouted Chase. He sighed heavily, as he ran to join his friend, morphing into the blue Ranger. "Damnit, Sky! You're going to get yourself killed."

Lucas and Jen stared at each other, not sure what to make of it, other than that Mirloc seemed to be what the two were after. "We should help them," exclaimed Jen, raising her wrist, knowing one thing was for sure, this Mirloc was a threat and needed to be stopped.

"Jen, wait." Lucas grabbed a hold of her wrist. "We don't even know who this Mirloc is. What he's capable of…."

"It doesn't matter. They need our help. If this Mirloc escapes, all of our futures could be lost."

"Then we should contact the others…

"No!" Jen glared at him. "….In case something happens, someone needs to be around to stop Ransik."

* * *

All who remained in the Command Center were Eric and Drake; Commander Cruger and Bridge both had left the room at Lucas' request, feeling that it would be best that he speak with Eric and Drake alone, knowing that something might come up that would not be for the ears of anyone else. Eric was an exception, as he had worked with Eric in the past and in some ways this did concern him. 

"….So you think they were in 2007 on Sirius?" asked Eric.

_"….Yes. We discovered alterations, just a few hours ago. Cassie Chan was not supposed to survive the attack on Sirius. And things can only get worse…"_

"How so? She's been in a coma for years; no one even thinks she'll ever wake up. How could that be a problem?" Not seeing how much of an impact of Cassie being alive could have on the timeline. "It's not like she was a danger to anyone. She's one of the good guys for crying out loud…"

_"….You haven't told him?"_ Lucas's eyes fell on Drake, his former leader.

"Told me what?" asked Eric, looking from Drake to Lucas, wanting to know what the hell was going on here.

_"…There's a time disruption and it's centered around Sky."_

"What's he talking about, Drake?" Eric turned to Drake, formerly known as Alex, wondering what the hell Lucas was talking about, _'time disruption'?_ It didn't make any sense and since it dealt with Sky he demanded to know. "Well…"

Drake sighed, though in the past when things had gone wrong and others had told him that it wasn't his fault, this time was going to be very different, this time it was his fault. He had caused this _time disruption_, as Lucas had called it. "It's a ripple…."

"A ripple?" That even made less sense than what Lucas had said. "What the hell is a ripple?"

"It's a ripple in time…." Drake walked over to the computer and sat down in one of the chairs. He pulled out the necklace from around his neck and clipped off the chain from around the circular object. "It's a change of events that have been altered throughout history." He opened up the slot and placed the round object inside the computer.

"So you're saying that by bringing Sky here, you altered history?" Eric didn't quite get it, this was one of those times he really wished he had brought Hayley along, and she would be able to explain it in a much better way than two top notch time travelers. "But I thought you said that you checked the history banks once, you said that Sky was an ancestor of Jen's mother."

When Drake didn't answer, it was Lucas who responded on the transmitter. _"Sky was supposed to be brought to the past. It was his destiny."_

"Then what's the problem?"

_"You have to tell him, Alex, he has a right to know." _

"I know." Drake watched at the disk loaded on the screen, once it was finished. He paused for a moment, when it asked him to click okay to view its contents. He turned around in his chair to face Eric. "I know what I said, and at the time it was true, but that changed once the ripple took effect. It changed things; made things different, caused some things to happen earlier than they should have."

"And what was this ripple that caused these changes?"

Drake returned back to the computer to view the contents of the object he had worn around his neck for so long. The first thing to pop up was a news clipping, dated October 8th 2007. It was the day after Wes had died. It was about the battle that had been fought against Mirloc, how Eric barely had survived. It read exactly as it did when Hayley had showed it to him in the hospital, there wasn't any difference as far as he could tell.

"I don't see a difference; it's all the same."

Drake didn't answer, just clicked to the next page that had Wes's obituary on it; slowly he raised his finger and pointed to the last few sentences. He didn't even wait for Eric to read it. "…..he is survived by his father, Alec Collins. He never married, nor had any children."

Eric's eyes widened, his heart nearly skipped a beat, he read it over and over, thinking he must have heard wrong, but he hadn't, it was right there in black and white. According to this Wes never married Lisa and apparently never knew Sky. "What? What the hell is this? Is it some kind of joke?"

_"It's no joke," _sighed Lucas_. "That was how the timeline was supposed to go."_

"But you just told me that Sky was meant to come here. It doesn't even mention Sky in the paper. And Sky came here in 2005." Eric was starting to get frustrated.

"That's just it."

"Just what?" Eric turned back to Drake.

"Sky was conceived in 2004 remember….. If Jen had remained here he would have been born in 2005."

"So Jen was supposed to stay here, is that the ripple?" But even that didn't make sense; if Jen had stayed here she and Wes would have gotten married and it would have mentioned both of them in the obituary.

"No." Drake cleared his throat and moved onto the next content of the CD, which was a photo.

Eric just glared at it, not believing what he was seeing; his heart skipped several beats, as he stared at the three in the photograph. It was a picture of him wearing his Quantum Ranger suit with the SPD badge, his daughter Megan was next to him holding his helmet, she was three years old, but what really got him was the little five year old boy who was also in the picture with them, holding _another_ helmet in his hands. "What the hell…. That's not possible, Megan and Sky are seven years apart, but there they're like two…"

"That photo is dated 2010…." Drake licked his lips. "The year Sky was supposed to arrive here, the real year when he would have been five."

"2010, but that was three years after Wes had died…." And then it finally hit him, in this reality, Wes would have never known about his son, to him Sky never existed. He then began to wonder how many other things would have been different. What else had changed? According to this photo Sky and Megan had grown up together and… "I never left SPD."

"No, you did leave," Drake corrected him. "But in 2010, you would get a call from Alec Collins, Wes's dad, about Sky. He's what brought you back to Silver Hills and to SPD. You would reconcile with Cruger and help Collins raise Sky."

"Does Collins still die in 2014?"

"Yes, you would have gotten custody of Sky four year after, when he's nine." Drake moved onto another photo, that was a family photo, it was Christmas. It reminded him of another Christmas photo, of little Wesley's first Christmas, but the only difference was Sky was in the photo with them and they weren't in the home he was living in now, they were in the mansion.

"When did Sky go to the academy?"

"Sky would go in 2020, when he's just 16 years old. Everything will happen as it did; he will meet Dru and will end up being teamed up with Bridge and Syd in 2022."

"But that would make Bridge and Syd…."

"Older than Sky, Syd would be about twenty and Bridge would be nineteen." Drake then began to flip to the next photo, it showed all three of them. For three years they would work hard together, becoming a team and tops at everything, just as they had in this reality. Sky would push himself to the top, even being younger than the other two he would be one of the best throughout the whole academy.

"What about Jack and Z?"

"They come in just as they did before; the only difference is Jack doesn't want any part of SPD. He chooses to serve his time in prison, but with Z's help he will get out sooner and will meet up with Ally."

"So if Jack doesn't become red Ranger…."

"Sky will become the red Ranger." Drake moved onto the next photo, to reveal all four of them in their SPD uniforms. Sky was red, Bridge was blue, Syd was pink and Z was yellow.

"If Bridge is blue, who will be green?"

"Due to the time ripple someone came to SPD a lot sooner than expected." He went to the next photo, to reveal a young teenager about seventeen with short red hair.

"Sam…" Sam, the little thirteen year old boy who was his daughter's best friend and sort of boyfriend.

"Yes…."

"But….." Now things really had gone over the top.

"Had things been allowed to happen this way, the battle when Gruumm killed the Rangers never would have happened. Your daughter and Sam would have never traveled to the past."

"I don't get it?"

_"There wouldn't have been a need. They would have won the battle, they would have been older and more ready for it,"_ Lucas announced.

"So basically," Eric turned to Drake, "by bringing Sky here early, it caused some things to happen that shouldn't have happened."

"Yes…"

"Is there anything else that has changed?"

"The two big things are, the final battle with Gruumm happened five years earlier in 2020 instead of 2025 and that Sky is no longer an ancestor of Jen's mother."

"Is that bad?" asked Eric, looking at both Lucas and Drake.

_"No, not in a sense, history has already adapted to both of those changes, Jen still existed, she still met Wes, fell in love, none of that has changed."_

"So what's the problem?"

Drake sighed heavily, as he glanced from Lucas back over to Eric. "With Sky being out of place and jumping through time the way he is, it could cause more ripples. Because I brought him here too early he's like a magnet, a chain reaction. That is why I have to go after him and bring him back here, before anything else can happen."

"You and I both know that Sky won't listen to you. I should go with you…."

_"No…." _

"What?" exclaimed Eric, as he turned to the screen to face Lucas. "This is bullshit, Lucas, and you know it."

_"Whatever it may be, you cannot go."_

"Why the hell not?"

"Because I'm the only one trained for situations like this," answered Drake. "SPD doesn't have the training or the experience, most of their time travel is still experimental."

"Yeah. Well, I'm not just SPD." Eric got right into Drakes face. "I was Time Force; I've traveled through time…"

"Once!" Drake raised up one finger. "You travelled through time once and nearly caused a catastrophe." He looked Eric hard in the eyes, he wasn't about to back down from this one.

"Look who's talking." Eric crossed his arms against his chest. "At least I didn't cause a ripple and made Sky into some kind of beacon."

"Would you rather I didn't bring him here, and Wes died never knowing about his son and that Jen still loved him?"

_"That's enough, you two!" _announced Lucas. _"This isn't the time for your bickering. This situation needs to be taken care of now! I'm sorry Eric, but Alex will be doing this alone, bringing you in could disrupt the time stream."_

"Fine!" He narrowed his eyes. "I don't like it, but fine. But you just better bring him back in one piece."

"I'll bring him back. I'll bring both of them back," he promised.

_"…Now that we have that settled, I should be in your time in under the hour."_

"Why are you coming?" asked Eric. "….Won't that cause more problems?"

"I'm going to need a time ship, one that will get the job done," answered Drake.

_"…Yes. And there may be another matter, concerning Mirloc."_ Lucas's eyes looked grim as he gave a warning sort of look to Drake, a look he knew his old friend would recognize.


	25. Old Friends and Reunions

"You okay?" asked Z as she and Syd took a seat in the common room, after just coming back from getting the results from Kat.

"…I don't know," she answered, not too sure what she was feeling at the moment. She just continued to stare down at the floor, looking at her feet. It did help knowing for sure now, but that still didn't help ease everything that was going through her mind right now.

"What are you going to tell him?"

"I have no idea." She sighed heavily, knowing she had a decision to make and wasn't sure where she was going to go with it. Syd's head hung low as even more weariness came over her. "….We don't even know if we'll find them." She felt a lump in her throat, finally coming to terms with Sky's disappearance. "They could be lost. _Forever_…." A feeling that was far worse; sure they had their problems in the relationship, but she would never wish for him never to come back from a mission, in fact that had always been her biggest fear. …That one day, Sky would go on a mission, like he always had, but wouldn't make it back.

"…Syd…." Z started as gripped her friends shoulder, knowing that this most be difficult for her. But what could she say, she didn't know much about time travel, other than it was complicated. She too, was concerned that they might not see Sky or Chase again, that the two could be lost in time.

"We are working to resolve that issue, Cadet Drew," announced Cruger as he and Bridge entered the room. "Eric Myers and an old friend of his who is familiar with these kind of situations have arrived and will do everything they can to locate Sky and Chase."

"….Along with that guy from the future," added Bridge, who found the whole thing mind-boggling. He knew time travel was possible because they had done it before, not at great length, but just the advancements and then knowing that a thousand years from now life would still be going on and that SPD, through a name change, would still be around. The whole thing was just amazing to him. He really didn't want to leave the Command Center, but understood that more was going on. "…I wonder if they still have toast in the future."

'Not to sound dumb, but what's he talking about?" asked Z, knowing that Bridge could be a little odd at times, but this was too odd, even for Bridge.

"It is complicated and in light of the situation," he eyed them all, knowing that this would come to a shock to all of them, "and given your relationship with Sky, it was felt among all those concerned that you three should learn the truth about your fellow teammate." Just before Bridge had been asked to leave the Command Center, Drake had told him that given what was happening he should tell the Rangers the truth about Sky.

"The truth? What exactly is there about Sky that we don't already know?" asked Z, not thinking much of it. "He's a hard-ass, all work and no play, whose whole life is SPD and becoming just like his dad."

"While all that is true, there is more to Sky." He motioned to Bridge to take a seat next to the girls so he could face the three of them. "I have known for sixteen years. A few months ago Sky learned the truth…."

"You mean he didn't know?" asked Syd.

"How is that possible?" asked Bridge. He had known Sky long enough to know his friend was not the type to just forget things. How could there have been something that Sky hadn't known about himself?

"I will explain all that, but I must first ask you that this information does not go beyond these walls." He looked them all hard in the eyes, staring them down. "Is that understood?

"Yes sir." They all nodded their heads, wondering what it possibly could be.

"This will come to a shock to all of you." He paused for a moment as he took a deep breath. "…Your teammate Sky came here in 2005 from the year 3009…"

All sorts of looks were going over the Rangers' faces, looks of disbelief, shock, bewilderment, surprise and uncertainty. They weren't sure what to make of it, other than that it had to be the truth because Cruger would not lie to them.

"What!"

"….Are you sure? But how…." Syd started, now her mind was really wondering.

"….I always thought that something was off with him." Bridge's face showed signs that a part of him felt like he always had known. "I just never thought it would be something like this."

"Yes, I'm sure it is the truth," Cruger announced. "Sky was brought here in 2005 to be united with his father Wesley Collins, after his mother died."

"So hold on a minute." Z held up her hand. "Let me get this straight, are you saying that Sky's mom is from the future too?"

"Yes." Cruger nodded his head. "I don't know much about her, all I know is that she and Sky's father worked together years ago in 2001…"

"…2001!" the three all said in union, as shocked looks came over their faces, not knowing how that was possible, Sky was born in 2000 …at least that's what they all had thought.

* * *

"It is useless to try to fight me, Rangers," smirked Mirloc, as he mocked the four Rangers who had been trying to take him down. "Give up now and I promise to make your deaths as quick as possible."

"Not on your life, pal," announced Chase. He wasn't about to give up now, not as long as he was still breathing. It was his duty as a Power Ranger and officer to bring in Mirloc. He pulled out his blaster, pointing it straight at the purple fugitive. "I was sent to bring you in and I promise you, I'm going to do just that."

"I wouldn't be making promises if I were you," Mirloc taunted as he walked circles around the Rangers, knowing he had proven himself to them to be a very dangerous threat. He was making it very clear as to who held the winning deck in their hands. "….Because you don't know what the future holds."

"And I suppose you do," remarked Lucas, not liking his tone or the fact that Jen wouldn't allow him to contact the others, but on the other hand there was still the matter of Ransik to be dealt with, someone needed to be around, just in case they didn't make it back, a thought he didn't want to think about.

"I know a lot more than you think I do." He glared with his dark yellow eyes right at the blue Time Force Ranger, as if he could see right through his helmet. Though he could see his reflection he had no intentions of escaping, at least not until he had finished what he had come to do. "…like for instance, I know you are Time Force Rangers."

"…How do you know that?" asked Jen. There was no possible way that Mirloc should know that information.

"Something's not right here, Jen…." Lucas could feel his heart pounding against his chest. In the pit of his stomach he knew something about this was all wrong. What could there possibly be in 2001 that interested Mirloc so much? The only reason they were here was trying to stop Ransik, who just wanted to come to a time period where Time Force didn't exist. If Mirloc was looking to team up with Ransik, he would have done that by now, but just from fighting against him something told Lucas that Mirloc was not the type to be looking for a partner. He was the type that worked alone. "….There's something about him…. Something that doesn't fit….." But he couldn't put his finger on it, what was it about Mirloc that reminded him of something? "….We _need_ to contact the others."

"No!" Jen shouted, along with Sky, which came to a surprise to everyone. The pink Time Force Ranger turned to the red Ranger. "…Why'd you say no?"

"My thoughts exactly," announced Chase, knowing that they could use all the help they could get. What reason would Sky have for not wanting Jen to contact the other Time Force Rangers?

"It's a bad idea." Sky drew out his weapon, pointing it straight at Mirloc and slowly started to approach him. "You don't know what he's capable of." And while that might be partly true, there was another reason as to why he didn't want the other Time Force Rangers to be involved in this. He didn't know if it was out of anger or fear, that he didn't want to have his father here right now, maybe both.

"Yes, and you know all about what I'm capable of, don't you, _Sky_…" mocked Mirloc, not at all intimidated by Sky's tactics, in fact he welcomed them because he knew one way or another he would use them to his advantage. He got right up to his face, breathing heavily against Sky's helmet, making sure his dark glowing yellow eyes glared right at the troublesome red Ranger. "You know all too well what I'm capable of!" He grabbed a hold of Sky's hurt shoulder, putting pressure on it, causing the red Ranger to drop his weapon. He leaned closer to Sky so he could whisper into his ear. "….That's why you won't let them call for help, isn't it?" He chuckled. "Afraid I'll kill daddy all over again?"

"Bastard!" Sky tensed up and with his free arm he clenched it into a fist and got ready to strike Mirloc, but his father's killer was ready and fought back as he twisted Sky's arm behind his back and kicked the red Ranger hard in the ribs, sending him flying towards a tree. The young Ranger crashed right into it and dropped to the ground hard, going into a forced demorph. "…Ahh" Sky cried out in pain, clutching at his ribs.

Mirloc grinned and turned to the other three, he opened his arms out, taunting at them to come and get him. "Who wants to be next?"

"I'll go check on Sky, you two try to handle him," announced Jen.

"Got I, Jen," exclaimed Lucas, he turned to his blue counterpart and nodded his head. "Let's double team him, blue style."

"With pleasure." Together Chase and Lucas ran straight towards Mirloc, knowing they would have to work together if they were going to take this beast down.

Jen ran towards Sky to help him up, but he pushed her away as he tried to get up by himself, but dropped to the ground. "Look, no offense, but I don't need your help."

"Looks like you could use all the help you can get." She held out her hand to him, waiting for him to take it. Sky was grateful she was wearing her helmet still so he didn't have to look her in the eye, as he took a deep painful breath, as he took her hand allowing her to help him up. "…You're a bit of a hard-ass, you know."

"Comes with the job…."

"Does losing all control and focus when bringing in criminals come along with it too?" she questioned him. "What you did was stupid, going after him like that; you can't take him down all on your own."

"You're the last person to be telling me what to do." Sky clutched at his shoulder, he didn't know where all this anger was coming from, but he couldn't help himself.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He sighed heavily, knowing things were getting a little out of control. He was saying things that he shouldn't be saying, things that could land all of them in trouble. "Nothing. Just forget it!"

She didn't know what it was, but there was something very familiar about Sky, but she couldn't figure out what it was about him. It was like she knew him somehow, but that was impossible. They weren't even from the same time, unless…. "Do we know each other?

Jen wouldn't get her answer as two blue flashes were sent crashing right into her and Sky. Mirloc had managed to be victorious once again, as he had easily defeated Chase and Lucas with no problem. "Lucas, are you okay?" asked Jen, as she tried to help him up, but in his weakened state he dropped to the ground, going into a forced demorph, with Chase following soon after.

"…Man," sighed Chase, as he took a deep breath. "I sure wish the others were here with us." He turned to Sky, who was kneeling next to him clutching at his upper chest, breathing just as heavily as he was.

"That does it!" The pink Time Force Ranger pushed herself to her feet. "It ends here!" she exclaimed as she ran towards Mirloc, fully intending to take care of business right here and right now, knowing that she needed to protect the others who were in no condition to continue with the fight.

"Jen, no!" shouted Lucas, as he tried to get up to his feet to join her, but fell back to the ground, still feeling the effects of the forced demorph. "Damnit!"

"Oh, how right you are!" Mirloc was ready for her as Jen swung a punch at his shoulder, but it didn't faze him. He countered it with a hard kick to the gut, causing Jen's legs to give way, and before she had the chance to recover he kicked her hard in the head, sending her body flipping and flying in the air until it finally came crashing to the ground and rolled over. The impact was so intense that Jen, like the others before her, went into a forced demorph, feeling the strong effects of the weakening feeling.

"…Oh no, Jen!" Lucas managed to push himself up to go join her, but Mirloc turned around and blasted Lucas with a powerful stunning blaster, sending the Time Force Ranger right into the grasp of Chase and Sky.

"…Don't tamper with my plans, Time Force Ranger. I didn't really come here for you, but if you continue to delay my plans you will leave me with no choice but to take you out next."

Lucas gasped heavily as he watched Mirloc turn back around and start back towards Jen, who was slowly starting to come to. "…Why's he after Jen?" It just didn't make any sense to him, what would a criminal from the past want with Jen?

"I have no idea, but you're right," answered Chase, watching Mirloc closely. It was very clear that Mirloc was after Jen and didn't seem to want anything to do with them. "He is after her, for some reason."

Sky could feel his heart beating against his chest, feeling in some way this had more to do with him than it did Jen, but he couldn't let those two know it. "You two stay here, I'll save her." Before they could even say anything, Sky gathered all the strength he had left in him and ran towards Jen, jumping over Mirloc and getting in front of her, putting up one of his shields just as Mirloc tried to strike a powerful blast at Jen.

"Now, Chase!" Sky shouted as he struggled to keep the shield up for as long as he could.

Both Chase and Lucas drew out their blasters and blasted right at Mirloc, striking him down, causing him to drop to his knees, which gave time for Lucas and Chase to join up with the others, finally able to stand on their own feet.

Sky's body dropped to the ground, having been drained from keeping the shield up for so long. His breathing was heavy, as he slowly lifted up his head to lock his eyes with Mirloc, letting him know he meant business.

"…You may have won this round." Mirloc raised his wrist up. "…But I can promise you that this is far from over. I will accomplish what I came to do." And before anyone could do anything, Mirloc disappeared in a flash of bright light.

With Mirloc gone, Lucas rushed towards Jen and helped her up. "Jen, are you all right?" he asked, his voice full of concern knowing she had taken both a hard hit and fall.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she answered as she regained her composure and looked down at Sky, who still appeared to be weakened from the shield he had used to protect her. "Thanks to you." She held out her hand to him, helping him up.

"….Don't worry about it," he answered all too quickly, not wanting to get into the whole ordeal.

"Sky, we should go now if we want to catch up with him."

"Right…." He licked his lips and eyed Jen, giving her a faint smile.

"I hope you guys catch him, he seems like one bad dude," said Lucas.

"We would go with you, but…."

"You have your own mission to complete," finished Sky, a part of him wishing he could tell her who he was, maybe he could get some answers out of her to help him make sense of why his life seemed so turned upside down, but he knew it just wasn't possible to tell her who he was. It would break all the rules. "….But I can promise you we will get _him_!"

"Thanks for the help, but I'm afraid…." Chase drew out the memory wiper that Command Cruger had given him. "I was given orders to erase all memories of anyone we come in contact with."

Jen and Lucas looked at the blaster. Their eyes lit up, as if it had some sort of meaning for them, but before they could even protest Chase used it against them and before the effect of the memory eraser took effect he and Sky disappeared in a flash of light, hoping to catch up to wherever Mirloc had gone.

Jen and Lucas looked around, and glanced at each other, both confused. "Lucas, why are your clothes such a mess?"

"Look who's talking!"

Jen looked around, as if she had no clue how they had gotten here, the last thing she remembered was the two had been near the pound and now they were deep in the park away from the pound. "How'd we get here?"

* * *

"Lucas, it's been too long," announced Drake, as he approached his friend on the Newtech City Beach, which just an hour before had been secured by SPD making sure no civilians or bystanders would see as the time ship landed.

"I know what you mean, it's been eleven years for me." He shook his old friend's hand. It felt strange in a way, after not seeing him in so long, to now be looking him in the eyes. Though there were a few differences, time had aged his friend, his eyes seemed a little softer then he remembered and then there was the whole name difference. That was one change he wasn't sure he would ever be able to get used to. "…But I know it's been about five years more for you."

"Ah hum…. Hate to break up this little reunion, but shouldn't we be heading back to the academy to see what phase two of this plan will be?"

"Good to know some things never change," smiled Lucas. "How've you been, Eric…?"

Together the three got into the SPD truck that Drake and Eric had driven in and headed back to the academy, where some things needed to be sorted out before Drake would travel back in time to go bring Sky and Chase home. While Eric drove the truck back, Drake and Lucas caught up on lost time.

"So Lucas, I never figured you to ever consider being Captain." He turned to his friend, knowing that years ago being Captain of Time Force was the farthest thing from Lucas's mind, whose mind normally was on getting the girl and getting back on the tracks.

Lucas had to laugh at that, it wasn't the first time someone had questioned him on it. Back when he had gone through the program to even be considered, there was a lot of talk going around the academy, some of them not being able to believe a guy like him would want to become the Captain. Almost everyone thought that he would retire from the Force early and head back into his racing career ….that never happened. In fact it had been years since he had been behind the wheels of a race car. "….Well, I can't say it was my idea to begin with. But I've been Captain for about five year now; it's a hard job, but it does have some advantages…." One of which included this special top secret mission that he was on right now, seeing an old friend.

"….How long have you known that Sky and I have been alive?"

"Not long, long after Captain Logan retired and I was given the position…"

"Logan knew then…"

"He never said it, just told me that there were some top secret files I should look over." It had been unreal for him, reading the files, the way he had found them and although he had always suspected it. It was still strange in some ways. "….It really didn't state in the files that you were alive, but there was certain evidence to suggest that you two might be alive in the past."

"Guess he knew me better than I thought he did…." Drake smiled. A part of him had always wondered if Logan knew the truth about Jen, about Sky, but he never wanted to ask or even find out. "….So how are Trip and Katie doing?"

"Katie's doing great. She's still with Time Force; she works as a training instructor now. Still sweet as ever and can still handle her own, keeps that husband and kids of her in line."

"She got married." Drake had to smile at that, remembering how Katie was back when he had known her. She indeed was a sweet girl, but her extreme strength had scared more than one guy away. "…And I thought every guy was too intimidated by her super strength."

"Yeah. She's been married for about nine years to Vince Storms; they have two great kids, Cody and Kayla."

"Sounds like she's real happy." He always had known that Katie wanted to start a family of her own, but having had trouble keeping guys around had kept her wary. He was just glad that she was able to find a guy who loved her for who she was and didn't scare easily. "…What about Trip, did he ever find the right girl?"

Lucas licked his lips and sighed heavily. "Katie and I haven't seen Trip for years. About a week after you and Sky were declared dead, he put in a transfer to go back to his home planet. Before he left, he sent a letter telling Katie and me to stay with SPD, and that one of us needed to work our way up to become Captain, saying that it could come in handy in the future." He looked Drake in the eyes. "….I think that somehow he knew, Alex."

"Trip always did have a way of knowing things." He couldn't know for sure, but he did recall when he had said goodbye to Trip that his young green-haired friend looked at him in way, as if he knew this was goodbye for good. "….I guess he must have been afraid that if he stuck around it might have come out that he knew." Drake licked his lips. There was another question that he had been pondering in his mind for years; he needed to know. "Did you or Katie, at anytime before Jen died, did you ever think that Sky wasn't mine?"

"…I think we both knew that he was Wes's." It had always been what he truly believed, even when the two had gotten married, a part of him still believed that Alex was not the father. "But we knew that you guys had your reasons for wanting to keep it a secret. It's one thing for us to assume, it's another thing to know. We both understood; it's okay that you didn't tell us."

"Thanks." It felt good to know that there was no hard feelings about the decision he and Jen had to make all those years ago, about keeping their friends in the dark. It was a difficult decision for them to make, especially for Jen who had never once lied to them. "…So what about you, you and Nadira…."

"We've been married for ten years and have eight kids…."

"_Eight_!" exclaimed Eric.

"Five of them are adopted," grinned Lucas. "I'm good, but I'm not that good." He knew eight was a rather large number, but he loved each and every one of those kids. He wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. "Nadira wanted to give something back, to make up for everything she had done." He pulled out a handheld computer and brought up a holograph of his family, just as Eric pulled into the SPD parking garage. He started pointing everyone out from left to right, starting with the youngest member of the family, little 2 year old Ronny, 5 year old Natalie, 9 year old Lucas Jr., 10 year old Marcus, 11 year old Rose, 13 year old Mika, 15 year old Porter, 15 year old Ralph.

"Having all those kids must really put a damper on driving those fancy fast cars of yours," joked Eric, as he turned off the ignition.

"Oh, I may have a full nest, but I still have a fast car to drive to work every morning," he exclaimed as he put away the handheld and got out of the truck, knowing now it was time to get down to business.

"…Lucas, before we ended our conversation in the Command Center, you mentioned something about Mirloc," announced Drake. He hadn't liked the look or the tone of his old friend's voice, at mentioning the dangerous fugitive. Something was up and he wanted to have it out in the open.

Lucas sighed heavily, knowing there was no delaying it any longer. He bit his lip and looked at the two heavily. "….Yeah. I'm afraid it's not good…." His eyes locked directly with Drake, knowing he would know what this meant. "Mirloc is HARP, Alex..…"

His heart skipped a beat and his face turned white as a ghost, he felt a lump in his throat. "You're sure…."

"Yeah. My sources are all positive that it's him…."

"If they're right..." His eyes widened knowing now things had gotten critical. "….we don't have much time."

"….Hold on just a second here!" exclaimed Eric, not liking being left out of the loop. 'What the hell is HARP?"

* * *

A bright light emerged, and once it cleared Sky and Chase again found themselves in new surroundings. Chase pushed himself up to his feet, coming to grips as the strange sensation left his body, from just having traveled in time. "I don't care how many times we do that. That is something I'll never be able to get used to…"

"…What, it's too much for you?" questioned Sky a little harshly, as he dusted off his pants and torn shirt. He gripped his shoulder and leaned against the tree, wanting a moment to take a rest, still feeling the effects from the fight with Mirloc. "I would have thought a guy of your standards could take it."

"…You know, you've cocked an attitude ever since Jen and Lucas showed up to break up our little argument."

"And your point?"

"You tell me," jeered Chase, knowing that something had been up between Sky and Jen, something that didn't make any sense to him. "…You were a little harsh and rude to her."

"….Last I checked, everyone thinks I'm an ass."

"Look, I'm just saying that I thought something was up between you and her. Not to mention the fact of how you knew so much about them…" He glared at Sky right in the eyes, knowing that he was keeping something from him. "…I'm just asking for the same thing you've asked of me. Something about her bothered you… If we're going to stop Mirloc, we need to start trusting each other and working together."

Sky looked him hard in the eyes. "There was nothing going on between us. I don't even know her…."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"…Hey, who are you two?" asked a young voice.

Chase and Sky turned around to find a young boy standing in front of a mansion. Sky's eyes widened and his heart began racing as his eyes met with the little boy's. Chase looked over his shoulder. "….I suppose now you'll tell me you don't know him." He then got down on his knees to be eye level with the young boy. "…Hey there, sport, I'm Chase. And my friend behind me is….."

"_No one_," answered Sky sternly, thinking that this really was a very bad idea.

"Don't mind him; he's a bit moody today."

"Yeah. He kind of looks like the Grinch, from that Christmas show my dad watched with me."

Chase got a laugh at that and turned to Sky. "Kid's got a sense of humor, who would have thought that."

"Very funny." Sky gave him an annoyed look and crossed his arms against his chest.

He turned back to the young boy. "…Tell you what, kid-o, why don't we call him that?" Chase put out his hand, hoping he had gained young Sky's trust, which seemed to be far easier than with big Sky. "What do you say…."

"I'd call it a deal. I'm Sky, by the way…" He shook Chase's hand eagerly. His eyes then lit up when he noticed the SPD badge on Chase's uniform. "Hey, you work with SPD!" he said excitedly. "My dad works for SPD too, and my Uncle Eric. They're Power Rangers…"

"Awesome, little man." Chase was just amazed at the difference between the two's personalities, it didn't even seem possible that this little boy would one day grow up to be _'The Grinch' _as he had so boldly said it. "…Hey, I got a question for you, how old are you?"

"I'm six." He held up six fingers. "….But I'll be seven in about a month."

"All right then." He pushed himself to his feet. "….Hey there, Sky, do you think my partner and I could come inside and maybe clean up a little? We were chasing some criminals and got into a bit of a scuffle." He eyed the boy closely. "…But it kind of needs to be Top Secret, if you know what I mean…." he said, winking at him.

"He's not going to fall for that load of crap!" exclaimed older Sky.

"Yeah, sure. Follow me, we can sneak in this way…." Young Sky answered excitedly, as he started to led the way around the mansion.

Chase turned to Sky and grinned. "Guess you don't know yourself as well as you thought you did."

Sky pulled Chase to the side. "I think this is a really bad idea…."

"What? Afraid that I'll find something out about you that you don't want me to know?" But there was another reason why Chase felt the need to stick close to the young six year old boy. "…Besides, for all we know Mirloc could be after him, because if something happens to him," his eyes widened. "you're history."

"Hey, you guys coming or what?" they heard him yell.

"All right, fine. …" agreed Sky, having a bad feeling that Chase might be right about this. Mirloc did seem to have been after his mother, which if he had succeeded, he wouldn't be here at all. "…But I don't like it."

"When _do_ you like something?" remarked Chase.


	26. The Revealling

"…..I don't understand why we can't be in on the meeting," complained Z, who was more than a little irritated that Cruger had ordered them to remain in the Command Center to stand watch. "…Now, knowing about Sky, it's not like there could be anything else big to hide."

"Well it could be that they're talking about future events, and us knowing the future could cause a total time paradox…."

"And you don't think that guy Drake taking Sky out of the future and bringing him here could create a time paradox?" said Z, as she gave Bridge an annoyed look.

Bridge then motioned over to Sydney who was standing alone in a corner, her face down and sighing heavily. She had been like that ever since Cruger had informed them about Sky's past. It had been a shock to them all, not surprisingly, but it seemed to have affected Syd more.

Z followed Bridge's lead and turned to look at her young friend. She sighed heavily, knowing she might have sounded a little inconsiderate, totally not thinking how this must be affecting Syd after finding out that her boyfriend was actually from the future, and finding out the reason why he might have been acting so irritable for the past couple of months. "Syd, I'm sorry." She walked over to her and gripped her shoulder. "…Are you okay?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" She sighed heavily, knowing very well that she and both her friends knew she was anything but okay. "…My boyfriend's lost in time …I may never see him again." She turned to Z. "….I had to hear from Cruger about what has been bothering him all this time, and not from him." She was hurt and angry at Sky for his not confiding in her. "…Why couldn't he have just told me? Why did he have to be such a stubborn ass about it? Did he think I wouldn't understand, that I wouldn't get it…." She wanted answers, but the only person who could give them to her wasn't here.

"…Sky's a hard guy to read, Syd…." answered Z, not quite sure what to say in response. She glanced at Bridge, hoping that he might be a little bit better at this. "…Bridge?"

"…Maybe it wasn't that he didn't want to tell you, but maybe that he felt he couldn't." He wasn't sure what there was that he could say about this, even he with his ability had a difficult time trying to read Sky.

Syd sighed heavily as she smiled faintly at her friends, knowing they were trying to help, but it seemed to only draw her awareness to something she never wanted to even think about. "Maybe everyone was right, maybe Sky and I aren't right for each other. How can we be in a relationship, if he feels he can't tell me something?"

Both Bridge and Z sighed heavily, both knowing how Syd had always felt about Sky. But even they couldn't deny the fact that there was a part of Sky that truly did care for Sydney, even if he did have the tendency not to share things about himself with others.

* * *

In a room behind closed doors, Commander Cruger, Dr. Manx, along with Eric, Drake, and Lucas all sat around a table, as Drake and Lucas began to explain to them just who Mirloc really was. It would be a story that would come to a shock to all of them; even Drake was shocked by it. Had he known this years ago, maybe things could have turned out differently.

"In the year 2800, Time Force scientists were trying to perfect DNA, to wipe out all chances of parents passing diseases on to their children. But there was another reason…." Drake briefly eyed Eric from across the table they were all sitting at. "Humans and aliens began getting married, wanting to have children together, but due to the great differences in their DNA there were complications. Nine times out of ten the child would die before it came full term. And for the few that did survive, over half of them had behavior issues as they got older."

"Mora…." Cruger answered. Although Andros was human, he was from another planet much different from Earth and his DNA would be different from that of an Earthling.

"Yes. It may have been why Gruumm took her, it would also explain the strange ability she had," added Lucas.

"So let me get this straight: your scientists decided to somehow find a solution to this DNA problem, but in doing so accidentally created something far worse…" exclaimed Eric, he would have hoped that over time mankind would have learned.

"Yes. There was an _accident_, a spill, the mixing of the different DNA's created the first mutant. They called him HARP, Human Alien Research Project, but you knew him as Omni." A pin drop could have been heard throughout the room. "They began experimenting on him, using his blood. At first it worked as a cure for the problem, but over time the DNA began to mutate and more mutants began to be born, to humans and human/alien alike."

"….So the mutant population, it was Time Force's doing?" questioned Eric, eyeing both Drake and Lucas. "..This just keeps on getting better."

"…Eric!" yelled Drake, not liking his tone.

"No, Alex." Lucas sighed heavily. '….He's right, they should have been more careful. Especially since there had been a similar issue hundreds of years prior, they thought they could get past it, but they were wrong…"

"…You're talking about the accident that happened in 2001, aren't you?" asked Kat.

"…Yes," Lucas answered very careful, as he watched Eric's eyes stare him down. He knew Eric might have toned down a little, but he was still the same old 'I'll kick your ass if I don't like it' Eric.

"Are you trying to tell me that Sky and the others are mutants?"

"….More like hybrid humans." He licked his lips. "Katie isn't classified as a mutant…"

"What does she have to do with this?"

Drake and Lucas shared a glance, wondering if they should say it. Knowing too much about one's future, even if it's not your own, could still be damaging, but seeing as it would clear somethings up... "Katie is a descendant of Jack Landers." Drake eyed Eric. "….Where do you think she got her super-strength from?"

"…They pass abilities on to their children?" exclaimed Kat. She had always wondered about that: if and when they decided to have children how would it affect them? Would their children develop abilities as well?

"Yes. …It does however have been known to skip a generation or two." Lucas licked his lips and sighed heavily. "…It also may explain the abilities that both Mirloc and Omni have, some of the blood that was involved in the testing came from descendents of the six." That had been the reason why Omni had become so powerful, he was a powerful mutant, maybe even the most powerful, which made him the most dangerous.

"…Getting back to HARP, how did he end up in our time?" asked Cruger, wanting to get back on track.

Lucas sighed heavily, it was a hard subject for him to discuss because he himself was married to a mutant, had three beautiful children who were half human and half mutant. And though times had changed, there were those who looked down on his marrying a mutant and having children with her, but that wasn't the concern right now. What was the concern was what had come before it and how that had changed everything. "…The very problem they were trying to erase came back, but with an even greater force. Some of the mutants were fine and adapted, but others were dangerous to society. They would later learn that it was because of Omni, he was doing it. He had become far too powerful, they were going to…" He bit his lips; though he hadn't even been born back then he knew the story all too well. It had gone down as the greatest failure in Time Force history.

Though Omni had his own room at the base, he was in all ways like a prisoner, getting tested day in and day out, going through skills training, giving blood samples. But unbeknownst to anyone there, Omni had been working against them the whole time, growing stronger and smarter with each passing day. "…But he was ready for them. He escaped, killing over a hundred scientists and guards in the process…" He licked his lips. "And before he escaped in an experimental time transport, he basically cloned himself, creating an equal, who you know as Mirloc."

"What!" Eric rose in his seat, looking Drake hard in the eyes. "You mean to tell me you knew all along that-"

"No!" Drake snapped. "Look, over a hundred years had passed before I came into the picture, and nobody knew just how far in time they went. That was why they starting experimenting more and more with time travel. The Q-Rex and your morpher were part of that, but again there were complications." He might have done a lot of shit over the years, but he was not about to have this placed on him.

Knowing how frustrating this was for his old friend, Lucas stepped in. "…Eric, until today, Time Force believed that he was dead. Nothing alarming had happened to ever lead them to believe that he wasn't, until today…"

"So you believe that Mirloc, the clone of Omni, traveled through time to prevent Time Force from ever existing?" asked Cruger.

"Not just Time Force …SPD." Lucas looked Cruger in the eyes. "Without SPD there will be no Time Force, and Mirloc knows that."

"All these years he has been waiting to make his move." He turned to Drake. "…But why Wes, why kill him?"

"Because Wes was a main source for SPD. But he killed him too late, SPD was already up and running, that's why he wanted to travel to the past to prevent its creation. If he succeeds in killing key people, none of us will have a future."

"And what does Sky have to do with this? If he only wants to change the past, why go after Sky?" asked Cruger.

Lucas sighed heavily as he licked his lips, knowing that what he would say next would have to be said very carefully. He glanced over at Drake, just letting him know how serious this was. "…All I can tell you is that Sky is very important to SPD's future…Without him all could be lost."

"So what do we do?" asked Kat, wanting to know if there was anything she could do to help.

"Just be prepared for anything," sighed Drake, not knowing what he was to expect or what he'd find when and if he ever caught up to Sky and Chase. "….And keep the Rangers posted near the beach for my return."

"How long do you believe that it will take you to locate them?" asked Cruger.

"Honestly sir, I don't know." He didn't want to get their hopes up; this was a very dire situation. "I have an idea of where they may end up, if Mirloc is really after preventing Sky's existence, there's only one time he would go to. And unfortunately that's not a thousand years in the future."

* * *

It felt strange being back in this room… It didn't even look familiar to him, filled with childish things from a past he has long put behind him. ….After the death of his father, this room would have a dramatic change; there would be no more superhero posters, no more action figures or toy cars. After his father's death, he had no longer wanted any of that stuff, all he wanted from seven on up was to train and become the very best he could be and even go beyond that.

"Is he okay?" asked the little boy, looking to Chase, finding the young man in the torn red shirt behaving oddly as he walked around the room, as if he owned it.

Chase glanced over at Sky, sensing that being back here at this time must be very difficult for his young friend. "Yeah. ….He's just admiring your room, is all…"

"Didn't he have a room like this when he was little?"

"….I don't know, I think he did…." He knew he would have to be careful, there was no way he could tell little Sky just who his partner really was. "….We haven't actually known each other that long."

"…..Schuyler, sweetie, I'm going to be heading to the store, you want to come with me?" called up a woman's voice.

"…That's Lisa, she's my stepmother…" He started to head towards his bedroom door. "…I'll just tell her I don't want to go."

"…No," Sky answered right away, causing both Chase and his younger self to look at him strangely. "….You should go with her. Don't worry, we'll be fine, thanks for your help."

"But…."

"No buts…. That's an order, solider." Sky looked at himself hard, knowing that would get through to him; it had always been a game he would play with his father and Eric back when he had been that age.

"Okay. Yes sir…" young Sky said a little reluctantly, because he didn't want to go. He looked to Chase and waved goodbye to him, feeling that he probably wouldn't see him when he got back. "Bye…"

"See you around, kid," smiled Chase, as he watched little Sky leave the room, closing the door behind him. He turned around to face Sky. "….Was that really necessary?"

"Look…" Sky's eyes widened. "I'm just trying to keep my life intact… I'm supposed to go with Lisa…"

"….Or maybe you just don't want to be around _him_, because then you'll have to take a hard look at yourself." Chase looked Sky hard in the eyes, knowing that being around the younger version of himself was making Sky very uneasy. "…I know none of us are who we were when we were kids; shit happens, I get that….But you've got to admit you made one hell of a transformation…" How does a cute kid like that become the guy that's looking right back at him?

Sky got right into Chase's face, looking like he wanted to take a good slug at him, but he decided that given where they were now wouldn't be the best time for that. "Don't talk to me about my childhood, my life, or how I turned out, when you don't have a damn clue about it!" yelled Sky, feeling his anger burn inside of him. "You don't know me or anything about my life, so I'm sorry if you think I grew up to be such an ass."

"You're right, I don't." Maybe he had been out of line, but a part of him knew that he was right. "….But that's not my fault…" He wanted to get through to Sky, he wanted to understand, but he couldn't do that if Sky wouldn't let him in. "Just talk to me, Sky …We are friends, aren't we?"

For a moment Sky looked as though he wanted to tell him everything about what had been going on, what had been bothering him, but a second later the look was gone and that distant look returned. "….Look, just forget about it. Let's just find what we need and get the hell out of here, so we can go track down Mirloc…"

"…Fine, if that's what you want," sighed Chase, knowing that wouldn't help things between him and Sky. He knew in order for them to work together they needed to trust each other. Not that he could blame Sky, because there had been a time when he had not been honest with Sky about his own past, and as bloody and terrifying as it was, perhaps he should have been honest with Sky from the start. When the two first had met, things were fine between them, but after he froze up during the fight and Bridge got hurt, things took a turn for the worse.

Sky slowly opened the bedroom door and peered out, making sure the coast was clear. "Come on, this way…" He signaled to Chase, leading him straight to his father and Lisa's bedroom, where he knew he would find a clean shirt and his father's medical kit, so they could bandage up some of the cuts and bruises that they had received during the two battles they had faced.

Once inside the master bedroom Sky headed straight towards the bathroom to go look for the medical kit, while Chase walked around the bedroom for a brief moment before sitting on the bed next to the nightstand, where he saw a picture of little Sky, along with Wes Collins and a blonde haired woman who he assumed was Lisa, Sky's stepmother. He had to smile to himself looking at the family photo, they all looked so happy, so unlike how Sky seemed now. He set the photo down and opened up the nightstand to find another photo of Wes Collins, but this time a different woman was in the picture, a woman he recognized right away. She had shoulder length brown hair, deep brown eyes and a warm smile. …It was Jen, the young woman who had helped him and Sky fight Mirloc. …But why would there be a picture of Wes and Jen together? …And then it finally hit him, the reason why Sky had acted so strangely around Jen. …She was his…

"I found it…" Sky emerged back from the bathroom, just as Chase quickly closed the nightstand drawer.

"What were you doing?"

"Nothing…." Chase answered back, but in the back of his mind he knew now there might be more to Sky than he originally thought, but now even more questions were arising in his mind, like how was it possible that Wes and Jen had Sky if they didn't meet until 2001, a year after Sky would have been born.

"Right," answered Sky, not buying it, but at the moment he didn't care to know just what Chase had been doing, all he wanted to do was finish up here and get out before anyone else saw them. "….Look, just make it quick, I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to."

**Back in the present….**

"….Yeah. We're at Bio-Lab; now Drake wants to have the old morpher just in case. After we're done here we'll be heading back to Newtech…" said Eric as he talked into his cellphone, as he put in the combination to his safe at the office.

_"…He'll be able to find them…."_

"Yeah. He's going to do everything he can. They're smart, Hayley, if anyone can get through this, Sky and Chase can…" But even as he said it, he was scared too. He knew the risks, the chances. Wes and he almost hadn't made it back, due to how careless he used to be back then. All he hoped was that Sky wouldn't be as stubborn as he had been. "…Tell the kids not to worry."

_"I will. Right now they're upstairs playing a game with Megan…"_

"…Good. I'll call you later."

_"Okay. I love you, and make sure to tell Drake that Tommy and I want him to be careful…"_

"I will. ….I love you, too." Eric put his cellphone away as he reached into the safe and took out Wes's old morpher and tossed it over to Drake. "Hope you remember how to use this."

"…Trust me, I remember," answered Drake as he put the morpher on. It felt strange having it back on his wrist after all these years, but at the same time so familiar, like having an old friend back.

"Alex, you sure you know what you're doing? I mean, it's been almost twenty years since you've used it." Lucas was a little unsure how Drake's body would react, given his age and how long it had been since his body had experienced the morphing process.

"Only one way to find out…." He wasn't the type to be scared by technical details like these. He was always do or die. And he knew if he was going to be going up against Mirloc he was going to need to be protected and his old morpher was just the thing to do that. "…Here goes nothing." He backed away a few feet from the two, as he got into his morphing stance, and just like years ago, he pressed the button to begin the morphing process….CLICK…

"…Okay, I'm no genius, but isn't this the part where you're supposed to morph?" exclaimed Lucas, knowing very well this was when the morpher should activate.

"…It should have." He took the morpher off his wrist; everything looked to be intact, by rights it should have worked. "…After Wes died, nothing was done with it, right?"

"As far as I know, after Wes died, Alec locked it in this safe and no one has seen it since," answered Eric, finding it odd as well, even though it had been a good number of years since it had been used. He was still able to use his own morpher with no problem.

"If nothing was done to it and it wasn't damaged, then why isn't it working?" asked Lucas.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Eric turned to Drake. "What about my morpher, will you be able to use that?"

"Unfortunately, your morpher holds too much power, my body wouldn't be able to handle it." He knew very well the Quantum Morpher was the most powerful morpher that Time Force had ever created, and since he had been out of action on the Ranger level for a good number of years, the Quantum Morpher wouldn't be the best option to start with. "…I'll just do without."

"You sure that's a good idea, especially with Mirloc?" Lucas knew that Mirloc was just as powerful as Omni was, maybe even more powerful.

"I don't have much of a choice." Drake knew he still had to go, morpher or not he still had to go, the future depended upon it. All could be lost if Mirloc succeeded in ending Sky's life.

**...2007**

Sky and Lisa headed towards the parking lot and towards her car, pushing a grocery cart. She stopped the cart in front of her car and turned to Sky. "Schuyler, would you please open the trunk for me?"

"Sure..." he answered, as he lifted the hatch and pushed the trunk door up. "I can help you with the..." His young small voice was cut off by a much deeper and enchanting voice.

"...Allow me to help you with those groceries, Ma'am." Both Lisa and Sky turned to see a man wearing a long black cloak and dark sunglasses. "I would hate for you to break one of your beautiful nails..."

"Hey. I was going to help her," exclaimed Sky, not liking how the stranger was intervening. He promptly got in front of Lisa, staring up at the man, giving him a hard stern look, as if he was trying to protect his stepmother.

The stranger chuckled and grinned at Lisa. "...Quite the little protector, isn't he?"

Lisa placed her hands on Sky's shoulder, smiling back at the man. "Yes. He gets it from his father."

"Yeah. He's a Power Ranger..."

"Really?" The man continued to smile, as if trying to gain their trust, but was finding that the young boy wasn't so easily swayed by his charm. "That's truly amazing. You're one lucky little guy, having a Power Ranger as a daddy."

"Which is why we don't need your help." The young boy crossed his arms against his chest.

"Schuyler, ...don't be rude." Lisa smiled faintly at the stranger. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's gotten into him, he's usually not like this."

"Oh, it's all right, no harm done." The man started to reach towards the groceries. "Now, how 'bout we get these bags in your car." His eyes glared down at Sky, and for a spit second they glowed a yellow color. The man grinned when he saw the eyes of the little boy suddenly become even more alert than before.

"Lisa, something's not right." His heart began to pound against his chest. "We should call Dad."

Lisa could feel Sky backing up against her, now thinking that perhaps he was right and that this man should not be trusted. She pulled the bags away from the man. "Thank you, but we're fine."

"Oh, but I insist..." He flung his glasses off and transformed in front of them. He laughed when he saw the deep fear in Lisa's eyes and how she pulled Sky closer to her.

"...Wh..Who are you?"

"That's right, you don't know about me yet." He shoved the cart away. "...But you will; my name is Mirloc, but you needn't be afraid, young lady." He grinned as his eyes loomed over the young Sky. "I didn't come here for you..."

One hand wrapped protectively around Sky, while the other started to reach towards her cellphone, fully intending to get a hold of her husband, but Mirloc saw what she was doing and zapped the phone out of her hands. "…Nice try, but it isn't the time for me and your unworthy husband to meet, that will come in due time."

"Schuyler, get behind me!" Lisa started urging her stepson behind her back in order to prevent Mirloc from getting to him. "…I won't let you get anywhere near him."

Mirloc began to laugh. "You don't know who you're dealing with. I am your worst nightmare come true; it would be wise not to underestimate me. Now step aside, woman." He looked Lisa deep in the eyes, wanting to send chills down her spine. "You are no threat to me. I just want the boy…"

"He hasn't done anything to you!" Lisa stood her ground even though her heart was pounding rapidly against her chest; she would not step away. "…He's just a boy, he isn't a threat…"

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong…" He knew all too well that Lisa knew just how special the child was, what he was capable of and where he had come from. "…Come now, Mrs. Collins, we both know he is very special indeed."

Lisa's eyes widened. Though she didn't know everything, she knew enough to know that the creature before them had come from a far off place. "…You aren't from here are you?" She knew he had come from the future, how far she didn't know for sure, other than somehow it involved her young stepson.

"My, we catch on fast…." He stared down at young Sky, who was peeking from behind Lisa's back. His face wasn't fearful; it was determined, much like the young man he would grow up to be. "He's caused me a great deal of trouble, you see, and I need to put a stop to it…"

A second later two flashes of blue and red loomed above Lisa and young Sky, as the two figures jumped over them and now stood in front of them, creating a barrier between them and Mirloc. "You'll have to go through us first, Mirloc," announced the blue SPD Ranger.

"It ends here, we're bringing you in," exclaimed the red Ranger.

"It seems I underestimated you two …but I'm afraid there will be no stopping me this time. I will have him and there's not a thing you can do about it…" Mirloc locked his eyes right on the red Ranger's, smiling an evil grin.

"Over my dead body…" the red Ranger promptly responded.

"Oh, I hope so…" Mirloc's eyes grew a bright yellow. "I hope so very much indeed…"

"Chase, get them somewhere safe, I'll hold him back."

"Right!" Chase, the blue Ranger, shouted, as he immediately turned to Lisa and the young Sky. He quickly picked up Sky and looked to Lisa. "Stay close, I'll get you somewhere safe…"

"Who are you? Did my husband send you?"

"I'm a friend. That's all you need to know…"

"You can trust him, Lisa, he's my friend Chase…." the young boy promptly stated, assuring his stepmother that they could trust the blue Ranger.

"All right…" she shakily answered, allowing Chase to lead them further behind more cars in the parking lot to distance themselves from Mirloc. She looked over her shoulder, watching the red Ranger fighting valiantly against the beast-like purple man. "…Your friend, will he be okay?"

"He'll be fine, just keep moving…." Chase used his free hand and gave her a light push, knowing that he needed to get both her and young Sky to safety. He didn't know why Mirloc was after young Sky when he had every chance of taking out present day Sky; all he knew for sure was he couldn't let Mirloc get to him.

Sky's and Mirloc's swords clashed together as sparks flew around them; someone would have to be blind not to see how much the two despised each other. It was very much in the manner the two fought against each other, as if it were personal.

"If you want to fight _me_, then fight me, Mirloc," growled Sky. "…Leave him out of this, he's harmless to you…"

"…I'm afraid that's just not possible, my boy." Mirloc started to walk circles around Sky, flashing his sword around. "You see, my dear red Ranger, I need _you_ not to exist…"

Sky could feel his heart pounding against his chest, it was becoming more and more clear to him that all along Mirloc had been after him, but why…?" That's why you went after her…. You knew who she was…"

"Oh, I know a lot more than you think I do. A lot more…." Mirloc's eyes widened, as he began to laugh.


	27. Faceoff

Chase managed to get Lisa and young Sky to safety behind a large semi truck; his heart was racing fast, fearing the worst at having to leave his teammate, his friend, to battle Mirloc alone. While he knew Sky was a great fighter and could hold his own, he knew that Mirloc was different from all the criminals combined that his young friend had faced. It was personal. And in the time he had gotten to know Sky, he had learned that the young Red Rangers could lose focus when something became a personal matter, especially when it concerned Mirloc.

He powered down and turned to Lisa and the young boy. "We should be fine, for now…" He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down; knowing that if Sky failed it would be up to him to protect them and defeat Mirloc.

"I don't understand. What's going on? Who are you guys? Why's he after Sky?" Lisa held her young stepson close to her, wanting to keep him safe. "Did my husband send you?" She wanted answers and she wanted them now. Why was the creature known as Mirloc so intent on wanting to harm her husband's young son?

"It's complicated…."

"I don't care how complicated it is! That monster came after us and he knew who we were." She eyed Chase closely, not backing down. "So you better start talking!"

"….It's okay, Lisa." Little Sky looked up at his stepmother. "I saw Chase and his friend at the house, they're fine. They're Rangers, just like Dad…."

"….And that's another thing. My husband and his partner Eric are the only Rangers here on Earth. And the cadets that are in training to become Rangers, you aren't one of them…." While her stepson might be inclined to trust the man before her, she wasn't so sure if she should. "Where did you and your friend come from? Another planet? How did you know we would be in trouble?" So many questions were rolling around in her mind; she wanted to know what the hell was going on here. "What could that thing possibly want with a little boy?"

Chase sighed heavily, knowing he was going to have to say something that would at least satisfy her, but at the same time knowing it could do more harm than good. He put his hand to his side and felt the small gun that Kat had given him, just before he was going to leave. …Maybe he could tell her just a little, not everything, and as soon as he knew they were going to be safe for good he would just use the gun to erase their memories, so anything he would say would be forgotten. He licked his lips and looked her right in the eyes. "….How familiar are you with your husband's _past_ as a Ranger?"

Lisa's eyes widened. "So you're with…."

"No. We are SPD…." He licked his lips. He ran his hand over his face, knowing he needed to choose his next few words carefully. One thing was for sure, he could not tell her the identity of just who the other Ranger was. "We were sent on a mission to recapture Mirloc and ended up here…."

"How far….."

"….Not that far…." He couldn't tell her exactly, it would draw too many more questions, ones he didn't want to answer and ones he knew Sky would never forgive him for.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked the little boy, not quite sure what the two were discussing.

**Back in the present….**

Slowly he walked into the room, making sure to look over his shoulder and to all sides to make sure no one else was around. He had never thought the day would come; he had gone through a number of years believing that she was dead ….and yet there she was. Though the future had changed, for some reason that he could not explain he remembered her being dead. He remembered going to her grave, he remembered Gruumm telling him his mother was dead …and now here she was lying in a bed, asleep as she had been since the day Gruumm had attacked the home world of his former Commander. She had been in a coma ever since….

Cliff sat down in a chair, taking her hand into his, gently rubbing his thumb over her hand as he stared at her face. Though she was over two decades older than he remembered, she still looked just as he remembered, beautiful. He licked his lips, as he cleared his throat feeling a lump and a great amount of guilt take over, knowing that she had always believed he had died the same day his father had, and how much it must have hurt her. "…I'm sorry, I didn't do what I was told. I know it must have been very hard for you, all those years thinking I was dead, when I wasn't." Tears began to form in his eyes. He had been through so much over the years, he had been hurt, he had caused so much hurt to other people, including the ones he never ever wanted to hurt. "…..I just couldn't leave him. I had to go back, I had to try… I didn't know they were after me, what they wanted from me." He took a deep breath, trying to regain control. "….I just want you to know that I'm sorry, for everything… I never meant for this to happen." He bowed his head down, sighing heavily. "…I never meant for any of it to happen." He buried his head on top of his mother, crying heavily, letting his tears fall out.

….And for the first time in years Cassie opened her eyes; ever so slowly she began to move around a little. Feeling the sudden movements Cliff lifted himself up slightly and looked into his mother's face, making eye contact. His heart skipped a beat and then it started pounding against his chest; he hadn't expected this to happen. In fact a part of him wished that it hadn't.

"…Alistair…" she weakly whispered, as she locked eyes with the young man staring back at her who looked so much like the man who she had loved more than anything, but had lost to a deadly battle.

"….No," he answered softly. It had been so long since he had heard the name Alistair, his father's name, his true identity. His mother believed it was him, but maybe it would be better for her to believe that it was and that this was just some dream; she didn't need to know the hell he had been through, what he had done, all the horrible things he had done, all his sins. "…Go back to sleep now, this is just a dream…" He knelt down and kissed her lightly on the forehead, watching as her eyes closed shut.

"….Who-…Who are you!" shouted a frantic voice.

Cliff stood up and turned around to find an older woman who resembled his mother standing in the doorway. Right away he knew who she was: his grandmother. The grandmother he had never known, the grandmother who didn't even know he existed. "…I'm no one, I was just leaving." But he wouldn't get too far, because not a second later Michael Colbert, leader of the Mirinoi SPD base, entered the room, his eyes locked on the young man before him. Cliff sighed heavily as his eyes met with the man he was afraid to face, but knew it was time for him to face him; it was time for him to pay for what he had done.

"….We should talk," announced Mike, his voice was firm, but not threatening.

"Yes, we should…" answered Cliff. As hard as it would be, he owed the man before him that much.

"…Don't worry, Mrs. Chan, I have everything under control." Mike gripped the older woman's shoulder, knowing she was greatly concerned for the wellbeing of her daughter, who had been in a coma for so many years. It had been a hard time for her and her husband, having to leave behind their home to come here in hopes that one day their daughter would wake up. "…He means no harm to Cassie, I can assure you."

"…All right." She nodded her head steadily. "…Thank you, Commander." She slowly walked past Cliff. As he passed by her, making his way over to Mike Colbert, for a brief moment their eyes meant. She didn't know what it was but there was something about him, something sad, something lost ….and yet something so familiar about him, as if she felt a connection with him, but she had no idea why. This was the first time she had ever seen the young man.

"Come on, Cliff, let's go somewhere private…." Mike grabbed him by the shoulder and led him away, down the hall towards another room.

…**.2007**

"….Oh, I know a lot more than you think I do. A _lot_ more." Mirloc's eyes widened as he began to laugh. It might well be time for him to let the cat out of the bag and let Sky know who he was, where he came from and why he wanted to rid the world of his whole existence. After all, he did owe Sky a favor for helping him escape his prison. "…Demorph and I'll tell you everything."

"What do you take me for, a fool?" shouted Sky. He was not about to fall for any of Mirloc's tricks. He had allowed that to happen once before, letting his guard down; he would not make the same mistake twice. "Whatever you have to tell me, you can tell me while I'm morphed."

"…Call it a gesture, so I know you won't pull anything." A wide grin came over Mirloc's face. "….Besides, I want to see the look on your face when you hear the whole story."

"That's a bunch of bull! How do I know _you_ won't try to pull anything, and why should I believe a word you say?" Sky kept his stance and guard up, he wasn't about to listen to a damn thing the murderous creature had to say.

"….Fine, have it your way." Mirloc started walking circles around the red Ranger, keeping a fair distance, not wanting to get any sudden movements out of Sky. "…It won't matter; it's only a matter of time until I have completed my mission, after which you in that red Ranger suit will just fade into _nothingness_…."

Sky kept his eyes close on Mirloc, moving around with him, not wanting to let his guard down. But while his Ranger senses wanted to keep his guard up, another part of him wondered just what Mirloc knew. He knew he shouldn't believe a word he said, but then again Mirloc knew who his mother was. He had tried to kill her, to prevent him from ever being born; just perhaps his father's killer was being truthful after all. "….What do you know about me?" He kept his blaster pointed at Mirloc, not letting it down.

"…Ah, eh…." Mirloc shook his head. "….If you want me to tell you anything, you have to sweeten the deal, demorph or you'll never know what I know…."

Sky hesitated, his mind going back and forth, contemplating what to do. He knew it would be a dumb and careless move on his part to demorph in front of Mirloc, but Mirloc might hold information about his past that he wanted answers to.

"…Well?" Mirloc's voiced hissed through his mind. "What will it be?" The purple creature knew very well what the young red Ranger would do, it was very easy for him to toy with the young man's mind, twist and turn things, because he knew what Sky wanted, answers….

Sky stiffened up, knowing he might come to regret this decision, but right now he wanted to hear what his father's killer had to say. "….All right, but once your story is finished I'm rangering back up and I will _finish_ this!"

"I wouldn't want it any other way." Mirloc put his arms to his side. "You see, I always like my victims to know why I'm putting an end to their lives…." He laughed with amusement.

….From a distance away Chase was watching, his eyes widened. "….What the hell are you doing…" He watched as his partner demorphed.

"Why'd your friend demorph?" Lisa demanded. "I thought he was supposed to stop that thing."

"I don't know…." Chase gulped under his breath, fearing that Mirloc had some type of trick up his sleeve. "The two have a long history together…"

"I would never demorph, that's just dumb," exclaimed the little boy. "Dad would never demorph in the middle of a fight."

…_The kid's got more sense than you…. Damnit Sky, why can't you keep your head on straight when it comes to this freak? _Chase sighed heavily, keeping his eyes locked on his teammate. "….I hope you know what you're doing," he muttered under his breath, knowing that Sky could tend to lose focus of what's important when Mirloc was involved….

"….You and I have a lot in common, _Sky_…." Mirloc taunted, knowing that given the history between the two, it was going to be easy for him to twist his words in ways that he knew would be troubling to the young leader of the Power Rangers. He knew his situation with Sky was a personal matter to the red Ranger, which gave him the advantage. While Sky might be an excellent fighter, his strong will however could be easily tampered with if someone said the right words.

"I doubt that," he answered back, knowing that Mirloc would try to twist and turn his thoughts around to try to get a rise out of him, to get him to put his guard down. He couldn't let that happen. "….I'm not a murderer…."

"…..Not yet," he answered all too confidently.

"What's that supposed to mean…?" Sky barked back, not liking Mirloc's confident and so assured stance.

"Let's just say I know your future…."

"I'll bet." He wasn't about to buy any of it. His eyes widened and his face became stern. "….Nobody knows the future."

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong…." Mirloc took a few steps forward, so he was right smack in Sky's face. "….And you know it." His eyes glowed a dark yellow and a sly grin crept over his face. "….Because you see, my dear Ranger, you and I came from the same exact _place_!"

"What?" Sky exclaimed in disbelief. "….What are you talking about?"

"I think you know." Mirloc knew he had Sky right where he wanted to have him, in his place, it would only be a matter of time until he would make his move and strike him down. "…Though we only missed each other by mere years, your legacy still reigns on."

"….You're from the future?"

"….Yes. A future you helped create, and ironically, a future a few hundred years later would be born too," exclaimed Mirloc.

Sky felt his heart skipped a beat, he had never imagined that Mirloc would be from that far in the future.

"…You see I know you better than you know yourself." He hissed his hot breath into Sky's face. "….The future you helped create, your SPD, will one day become Time Force and an even more powerful force than SPD ever dreamed of being. The Earth base would become the _most_ powerful and _most _feared throughout the galaxy." Mirloc could feel his fury burning; his eyes glowed brightly as he continued his story. "….But like all things," a sly grin came over his face, "….mistakes, accidents do happen, one of which created me, or more so ….my predecessor…"

"….What?" was all Sky could get out.

"…_**You see, Ranger, the future you helped create …created an even greater threat, the very one that would threaten a future a thousand years before it…."**_

_While a group of scientists worked in a lab, unbeknown to them a spill, combined with discarded material, had begun to combine together in a far off corner, leaking into the basement, creating a green sludge… ….During the night the green sludge moved to a far off corner near the electrical box. A storm above could be hear raging outside, thunder banged loudly echoing throughout the room. …Then there was a loud BANG, BOOM, lightning had struck, taking out the power of the building, small electric sparks rolled off the box and then united with the green sludge…. For a moment all was silent and calm, the storm seemed to be passing by and drifting elsewhere… The green sludge was still and calm …until an arm blasted upwards, a gruesome creature emerged pulling itself out of the sludge. The creature hissed and grumbled, taking in its surroundings, its eyes a darkened yellow, glowing in the dark. "…Where am I? What is this place…?"_

"….That night, the first mutant was born… The next day, your future scientists would discover him…."

"….That's an interesting story, but what the hell does it have to do with me?" He saw no connection whatsoever between himself and this so-called creature that scientists in the future would one day create.

"A lot more than you think it does…." Mirloc taunted. "…..Because you see that creature, that monster they created, was the being you knew as Omni…"

Sky's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat. "Wh-What…. You're lying, that's impossible…."

"More impossible than a young boy who was born a thousand years in the future, but grew up a thousand years before?" Mirloc laughed at the shocked and dumbfounded look on the red Ranger's face. "…The story is very much true…." A sly grin came over his face and his taunting eyes locked right onto Sky's. "I should know, I was there…."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"….We are the same. Before Omni escaped into time, he created _me_….." He gloated. "…Although some years later, he would live to regret that decision…."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"….That's nothing you need to concern yourself with."

"All right, fine. You're from the future, I get that…." He kept his face stern and his eyes hard on Mirloc. "…But what does that have to do with me and my father? If you came from a thousand years in the future to the past, to come after us, you must have a damn good reason…."

"….The reason is very simple." Mirloc cocked his neck. "….For Omni, he wanted revenge on Time Force. They had underestimated him, treated him like some lab assignment, when all along he was far more intelligent and powerful than they would ever be… But he didn't know where to start…. Until one day, on another planet, he came face to face with a Ranger wearing a uniform that resembled the Time Force's…" He could see Sky struggle to remain calm, knowing it wouldn't be long now. "….A Wesley Collins. He wanted to kill your father right then and there, but he was blinded with his rage and anger, so that he underestimated and lost the battle and nearly his life…."

Sky clenched his fists tightly together, but he knew he needed to remain calm and keep his guard up, not wanting to allow Mirloc any chances.

"….. I would then be called in." Mirloc grinned. "….I think you know what happens next."

"I want to know why? Why was he so important…Why'd you kill my father?" after all these years he wanted to know why his father had to die, and the only person would could answer that was standing right in front of him.

Mirloc began to laugh. "….Haven't you figured it out…." He was slowly seeing Sky begin to lose his composure. "….Your father wasn't the main issue, he was just in the way ….it was _you_." Mirloc's eyes began to glow brightly. "…Why do you think Omni wanted to use you and your gift to power up his shield all those months ago? He wanted to use the very _person_ who started it all, to destroy it from ever existing." Mirloc's laugh continued to echo around them. He put his hands behind his back. "…..You see, my dear boy, you will grow up to become a very powerful leader, and start something that will continue throughout history; you'll be known throughout the galaxy as the one who did it all…" Behind his back Mirloc had been powering up an electric beam, getting ready to strike the young man in front of him, knowing in a few short seconds he would have his chance. "….But that won't happen, as I will be rewriting history. Once you're out of the way," he crooked a smile, "….I will be sure to go after that pretty girl you care so much about…"

"…You aren't going to lay a finger on her!" he exclaimed, feeling his anger and fury burn and making the one mistake he had been trying so hard to avoid: he had let his guard down.

"Oh, but you won't be able to stop me…." Mirloc moved quicker than light, getting ready to blast the powerful beam he had been preparing. "….In fact, in a few short moments, _you_…will never have existed, to even have met her…." Before Sky could react Mirloc let the blast loose, sending him crashing into cars all the way over to where Chase had sought cover for Lisa and young Sky.

Sky's body fell hard to the ground, his body was all cut up from hitting the cars and the fall; a large cut was on the side of his head, his shirt was torn and his body lay limp. "….Damnit!" Chase knelt down towards him. "..Sk,,,," he stopped himself, knowing he couldn't let Lisa or the young boy who she held tightly in her arms know the name of the man lying before them. on pal, stay with me…." Car alarms were going off, smoke and fire could be seen from the cars Sky's body has collided with along with Mirloc's powerful blast. It wouldn't be long before calls would be going in for the police to arrive at the scene, bringing with them fire trucks, ambulances and Silver Guardians, pre-SPD officers, which would only draw more problems, ones that Chase did not want to deal with on his own.

"…Is...is he okay?" asked Lisa shakily, very concerned now not only for the young man who had tried to stop Mirloc from harming them, but also knowing that at any moment Mirloc would find them.

"….I…I don't know." Chase could feel his heart racing, not knowing what to do. He knew Mirloc would be here any second and there would be no possible way for him to fight Mirloc while trying to protect them. He didn't know what to do. on! Wake up, I know you're a whole lot stronger than this, you're not going to let him beat you. Do you hear me, don't let him win!" Chase began trying to get Sky to regain consciousness by slapping his face.

"…He's here!" young Sky's voice broke in.

Chase looked up to find Mirloc staring down at him, an evil devious grin on his face. He immediately jumped to his feet, knowing that in order to protect Sky he was going to have to protect the young boy, even if that would mean…. "….I won't let you get him!"

"If he couldn't stop me, what makes you think you can?"

"….Because I made a promise to him, that I wouldn't let anything happen to them." Chase made sure to keep himself in front of Lisa and the young boy, wanting to keep Mirloc as far from them as he could.

"You should know better than to make promises to a man who's about to be _dead_!"

"He isn't dead yet, not as long as I'm around to stop you…." Chase got into a fighting stance, keeping his eyes on Mirloc, watching him closely for any sudden movements the creature would make.

"….I suppose we have a little time." Mirloc grinned. "Besides, I always like to add to the list of Rangers I've defeated…"

"Don't count your chickens until they're hatched….." He briefly eyed Sky, who was on the ground moaning softly; that was a good sign, Sky was waking up. He just needed to give his friend some time to regain his strength.

"I don't need to count. I know I can defeat you, just like so many before you!"

"We'll see about that!" exclaimed Chase as he jumped over Sky's body and tackled Mirloc to the ground, rolling their bodies a few feet away.

In which time Lisa dragged Sky's limp body towards her and laid his head in her lap, as young Sky stuck close behind her back. "….Please wake up, your friend needs you!" She trembled; her heart was racing fast, wishing that her husband was here; he would know what to do.

"…..He's going to be okay, right, Lisa?" asked the young boy. "….Nothing can stop a Power Ranger, right?"

Lisa's eyes roamed over the young boy, not knowing what to say to him. It had always been a question that would cross her mind every time her husband would go into work, get called in or Ranger up, because she knew that one day he might not come back and that scared her more than anything. "I…."

"…Have to stop him…." Sky moaned, as he slowly began to open his eyes. Everything was blurry; he could see quick flashes in front of him of blue and purple battling it out; he couldn't tell who was winning, only that both were not letting up. "…Need to stop…Mirloc…. Have to…." He started to push himself up, but felt a sharp pain in his side. "….Ahhhh….Shit!"

"….You're hurt." Lisa glanced at his torn shirt and could see heavy bruising, along with a few cut's, bleeding slightly. "…I think your ribs might be close bruised, or worse."

"…Lisa?" he muttered under his breath, as he slowly took a few breaths in, trying to push the pain away, coming to terms with what was going on around him and who he was with.

"How'd you….."

"-….There's no time, just help me up," he exclaimed.

"But..."

"…..Just do it!" he ordered, as he placed his hand on the ground in order to help push himself to his feet.

"All right…." she agreed as she carefully wrapped her arms around him to help him to his feet.

Sky cried out from the intense pain that rushed through his body as he dropped to his knees, clutching his chest. He was angry with himself that he had let Mirloc once again get the best of him, and now he could do nothing but watch as Mirloc grabbed Chase by the neck and threw him across the parking lot. Sky could feel his heart racing, as he watched as Mirloc start approaching them. This would be it, this would be how it all would end.

"…You leave him alone, you big creep!" shouted the young boy.

"…Sky, no!" yelled Lisa, as she tried to grab a hold of the young boy who ran out of her grip and in front of the young man.

"No, don't!" yelled Sky, trying to grab his younger self, but it was too late. Mirloc's blast was heading right for them. He squeezed his eyes shut, thinking this was the end, but seconds passed and he was still here. He opened his eyes and to his surprise, not only had he created a shield, but his younger self had as well. Mirloc lay on the ground, stunned by his own blast; they must have somehow been deflected back onto him by the shield.

Mirloc gasped, pushing himself to his knees, his eyes locking onto both Skys'. "….This is far from being over." He reached for his wrist and pressed a button and disappeared into a bright light.

Both Skys let their shields down. The young boy turned to the older man next to him, with questioning eyes. "….You can do what I can do. I thought I was the only one…."

"Oh my God!" Lisa exclaimed as she walked in front of them, now having a very good idea as who the young man was. Why she hadn't seen it before, she didn't know. She started to open her mouth….

"….Don't," Sky exclaimed softly, but keeping his eyes very firm as he gripped a hold of the boy's shoulder, pushing himself to his feet, limping slightly, as he stood. He locked his eyes with her briefly before turning them towards Chase, who was walking over to them, appearing to be unharmed by his scuffle with Mirloc. "…We've got to get out of here before the police arrive," hearing the sirens in the background.

"Probably would be a good idea, considering…." He glanced around, seeing the parking lot that looked like a bomb had gone off; not exactly what they had wanted to have happen, but nothing they could do about it now.

"But wait, what's going on here!" Lisa exclaimed. "….You two can't just leave without an explanation…." She turned to the older Sky, pleading with him as if she felt that he owed her one. "….Please, tell me what's going on."

Sky and Chase glanced at each other, knowing time was running out before someone else would spot them. Chase turned to her, sighing heavily, knowing this was very difficult. "….I'm afraid, Mrs. Collins, we can't do that."

"And why not?" she demanded.

"…Because you won't remember this ever happening," Sky answered, and he nodded to Chase, letting him know now would be the time. As much as he didn't like his memory being erased, he knew this would be one thing his young self and Lisa must not recall.

Lisa turned to Chase and watched him pull out a sort of gun, her eyes widened, not knowing what to expect. "…We were given orders that if we come into contact with anyone, that we must erase their memories of ever meeting us. I'm sorry…."

"But…." She sighed heavily, knowing very well that SPD had certain protocols that needed to be followed, whether she liked it or not. She turned back to older Sky. "….At least tell me that everything is going to be okay?" Even if she wouldn't remember him or his answer, she wanted to know. "Please….."

Sky bit his lip, sighing. This was hard for him, seeing her again after all these years. "…Everything will be as it should be."

"….You're leaving? Where are you going? ….You can't leave, I just met you and you're like me!" The young boy tugged at Sky's shirt.

The older version of the boy sighed heavily, staring down at himself and knowing what he was going through. He had gone through it his whole life, people leaving him. He gripped the boy's shoulder. "…I promise you that someday you will meet others just like you. ….but I got to go get this guy." He licked his lips as he looked into those small blue eyes. "Lives depend on it. You understand that, don't you?'

"Yes…. A Ranger never stops…" Though he didn't want him to go, a part of him knew he had to, as if everything depended upon it.

Sky smiled faintly and patted the boy on the shoulder before stepping back and slowly making his way over to Chase, who was pointing the memory gun at the two. Lisa wrapped her arms around the little boy, staring back at them, keeping her eyes locked on the older Sky, wondering to herself what had caused him to become so distant, why did it feel like the two were complete strangers, but the moment she saw the flash all was forgotten including her looming questions…..

**Present day…..**

Hayley and Tommy walked upstairs into Erin's bedroom to check up on the kids and make sure that Megan was handling everything all right, but when they opened the door all they found was the girls, Erin and Jenny, playing video games with little Wes. Megan was nowhere in sight.

"….Erin, where's your sister?"

"….Don't tell her, Erin, remember what Megan said," exclaimed little Wes.

"Wesley!" shouted Erin, giving her brother a hard stern look, knowing now there was no way out of this no matter how good a story she could come up with. "You and your big mouth!"

"Well…?" Hayley crossed her arms against her chest, staring down at the children and wanting answers. "We're waiting…." although in the back of her mind she had a pretty good idea just where her daughter was.

"Girls, I think you should tell us…." Tommy announced, watching as Erin and Jenny exchanged looks with one another.

"….She called up Sam about an hour ago and the two of them left together."

"Did they say anything?"

"Ah…." Jenny and Erin continued to glance at one another and then back to the adults, knowing they weren't going to like their answers. "….They may have mentioned something about a time ship…"

"WHAT!..."


	28. Face to Face, Again

…..As they had before, Sky and Chase landed in the middle of nowhere. Unlike the last few trips, this was extremely painful for Sky as he was sure he had come close to breaking his ribs, which was something he'd come to realize was not a good thing when traveling through time. He ground his teeth tightly, feeling the stinging and almost burning pain spread throughout his chest.

"You all right?" asked Chase as he hung behind Sky's shoulder, looking down at him.

"….I'm fine," Sky gasped, as he pressed his hand firmly against his chest. "I just need a few minutes to get my bearings. It's not like we're transporting on an elevator…."

"I actually wasn't talking about your banged-up ribs…." Knowing that Sky was not one who wanted to get into depth with any injures he might have withstood in battle. "….Are you okay with what happened back there? I know…."

"-You don't know a damn thing!" shouted Sky, using his anger to push away any pain he felt, as he got to his feet and turned to Chase. "…Don't pretend that you know me, what I've gone through or how I feel." Sky took steady breaths because it was starting to hurt a little to breath. "…Because you _don't_."

"I may not know your whole life story, but I know that at one point in your life you were actually a sweet kid ….who unfortunately grew up to be a jackass! …And I get you had good reason to, people you loved died, people that you thought would be there for you left, ….but they still loved you, …_she_ loved you, Sky. ….Because if she didn't, she wouldn't have protected you from Mirloc." Chase knew some of the reasons being around Lisa was so hard for Sky might have been because of how things had been left between the two after his father had died; she left and he never saw her again, until _today_…. He could see Sky getting ready for a comeback, but he wasn't through yet. "No, I'm not done yet…. Look at yourself, going after Mirloc; losing control, not giving a damn about your own life …don't you care about how it will affect the people who care about you? …And don't give me that bullshit that _it's your job_… Mirloc isn't a job to you, its revenge. It's a death wish to you…."

"….You're the last person who should be talking to me about Mirloc, when there is someone in this universe that I know that you would want nothing more than to rip apart!"

He couldn't deny it. It was true he held a lot of anger against Cliff Chan and there was a part of him, maybe even more than a part of him, that would like to see him dead, maybe even to be the one to do it. He licked his lips and looked Sky right in the eyes. "…That may be so …but she wouldn't want me to put everything I had into avenging her death and getting my revenge." Chase knew how Callie felt about revenge: it could be a deadly and horrible thing, especially when it was filled with rage. It was something her father had told her since she was a little girl; _revenge is never the answer…_. He hoped that he would carry that on in her memory, no matter how hard it would be for him. "…And I'd be willing to bet my life that your father wouldn't want you to risk your life on this thing you have with Mirloc…"

He could see anger and fury built up on Sky face, but he didn't care, he had been trying to get through to Sky since he had gotten them into this mess and he wasn't about to stop until he had gotten everything off his chest. "You may not like me right now, but I really don't give a shit! ...If we don't start working together, if we don't start trusting each other, the next time Mirloc shows up it may be your last battle. And I really don't want to be the one to tell Syd how her boyfriend died, because of his stubborn ass!" Chase kept his face firm and eyes locked on Sky. "….I am not your enemy, Sky, I'm your friend." He put out his hand, wanting to make a truce. "….Let's just drop this whole act between us."

Sky kept his face stern and hard, his eyes never lowered to Chase's hand. He took and let out a steady breath. on, we should find out what time we are in, so we'll know where Mirloc will strike." Sky turned away, never once making any motion to reach towards his teammate's hand. He wasn't ready to make a truce yet. He wasn't ready to admit that he was wrong.

"….And while we're at it, we should go somewhere where you can get cleaned up ….unless you like walking around with blood on the side of your head," announced Chase as he followed behind Sky.

The red Ranger briefly looked over his shoulder, glancing at Chase, but never answered back. He held his chest tightly; as much as he wanted to disagree, Chase was right, at some point he was going to need to get bandaged up, until they returned back to their time and the base where he could seek medical attention …that's if he would survive the next battle with Mirloc.

**Back in the present…..**

"…So what year are you going to?" asked Eric, as he and Lucas helped Drake get everything set in the time ship, all the tools and equipment that might come in handy during his mission to bring home both Sky and Chase, and hopefully take down Mirloc.

"2004," Drake responded with confidence.

"….Why do you think that Mirloc will try in that year?"

"Because that's the year Jen became pregnant with Sky. If I'm right he'll try to go after her." He licked his lips. "….Just right around the time she's most vulnerable…"

"….Wait… You're talking about the time when we thought Wes was dead," Eric finished, knowing that if Mirloc were to attack, that would be the best time to get Jen. She had taken the believed death of Wes pretty hard; if Mirloc caught her off-guard he could easily take her out.

"Yes." Drake sighed, hoping that he would make it in time, before anything else could happen. He was already certain new events had altered history, first with Cassie Chan being the soul survivor of her Ranger team, and then in 2007 and a massive disturbance at one of the local grocery stores in Silver Hills at exactly the same time that Lisa and young Sky were there ….but the two had no memory of what had happened. Which could only lead Drake to believe one thing, that Chase and Sky were hot on Mirloc's trail, but what concerned him was how long could the two last…?

"….Okay I have the settings all set for you." Lucas turned around to meet the two having just finished working on the computer and setting the date to travel to 2004 in Reefside, California. "You should be good to go…."

"Thanks, Lucas…"

"….No problem, just bring them home." He knew he didn't have to say why, both he and Drake knew the importance of getting both Sky and Chase, along with Mirloc, out of the past and back to the present, everything depended upon it.

"Well, I guess we'll leave you to it…." announced Eric. A big part of him wanted to join Drake to bring Sky back, but he knew he couldn't go, as much as he wanted to he couldn't go. Drake had the training and the knowledge of how to keep low key, while the only experience Eric had with time travel was going back to the time of the dinosaurs where the only thing he needed to be careful of was not dying… In 2004 he risked the risk of running into not only himself but Hayley and the others and he was close to being twenty years older. "…Be careful out there."

"That's my job; you guys just hang tight…" Drake understood this was difficult for Eric, who was so used to taking action; he wasn't the type of guy that liked to sit back and wait around for something to happen. "….I'll be back before you know it."

Eric and Lucas nodded and waved goodbye, as they started to make their way out of the time ship. Eric was the first to step out, knowing if he looked back he would never be able to leave. Lucas stopped suddenly and looked over his shoulder. "….Oh, I almost forgot, it may be a bit more jumpy than you remember, so make sure you buckle up."

"…Thanks, Lucas, hold the fort until I get back."

"That's what I'm here for…" Lucas smiled and made his way out of the time ship and joined Eric outside, who was standing at the post by the Rangers. "Okay, Rangers, we should all back up a few more feet to give the time ship plenty of room…." They all followed his lead, giving themselves and the time ship enough distance between them.

Z wrapped her arm around Syd, giving her a brief smile. "…..Hey, before you know it, Sky will be back in your arms…"

Syd didn't answer, just smiled faintly and stared longingly at the time ship. She did hope that Drake would bring Sky back, but after that, she wasn't sure what she wanted. One thing was for sure, that once Sky was back safe and sound they were going to need to have a talk, whether he wanted to have it or not. He wasn't going to have a choice…

The engines of the time ship started up and a blue light began to shine around it; sand started to blow, everyone shielded their eyes as the time ship began to rise above the ground. Bridge waved his hand, wanting to double-check to make sure everything was in working order. He could pick up life signals - but what he found odd was that he was picking up three, not one. He knew Drake was on board, but who were the other two?

"….Ah guys, no one was going with Drake, were they?" announced Bridge.

"No, Drake was going alone…. Why do you ask?" questioned Lucas.

"I just checked the aura of the inside of the ship and I'm sure I picked up three life signals….."

* * *

Sky and Chase had been keeping low key, as they walked through the forest of the unknown territory that neither one of them recognized yet. Not a word had been spoken between the two since they first arrived just a couple of hours ago. It was starting to concern Chase, because he could tell that Sky was in bad shape. Mirloc had really done a number on him, and though his young friend didn't appear to have any broken bones, he was sure that some of them were at least cracked or badly bruised. …And it was becoming more and more clear to him that their next meeting with Mirloc could very well be Sky's last.

"….Sky, we really need to talk and resolve our issues with each other." announced Chase, finally breaking the silence.

"There's _nothing_ we need to talk about." Sky turned to face him, but continued walking. "….And even if there was, now is not the time or the place for it. So will you just-….."

Chase could barely hear Sky's last few words, as he watched Sky disappear into the ground. "Sky!" Chase shouted, looking around him, but Sky was nowhere to be seen, only trees and more woods. "Sky!" he shouted again. But no answer ever came. "…Great!" he muttered as he stomped forwards. "….This is all I neeeed…."

Chase hit the ground hard with a thud. "….Took you long enough!" exclaimed Sky, as he stared down at Chase, holding out his hand to help him up. "I was beginning to think you'd never show up."

"….You wish!" remarked Chase, as he took Sky's hand to get up. He brushed the dirt off his pants. "….So what is this place anyways?"

"What, you don't know something?" remarked Sky, as he crossed his arms against his chest. "…Imagine that!"

"…You know what…." Chase sighed heavily and shook his head; things were bad enough between him and Sky, there was no need to make things worse. "…Just forget about it, let's just figure out where we are."

"At least we agree on one thing," muttered Sky as he took the lead, making sure to have his blaster ready just in case they ran into any nasty surprises. Chase followed close behind him, blaster in hand.

"….What's that?" Chase turned his head pointing his ear forward trying to get a better listen.

Sky stopped. "….Sounds like voices, but I can't make out what they're saying." He looked over his shoulder. "….Let's move in nice and easy."

Chase nodded his head, agreeing that given the situation and not having a clue where they were that was the best plan to take. It was rather odd to have some strange hidden underground tunnel in the middle of the forest. There was no telling what could be lurking down here. "….The voices are starting to become clearer, I think I'm picking up three of them."

"Yeah. Two male, one female…." Sky whispered, keeping his voice low, so not to alert the three unknown voices of his and Chase's presence. He took a few more steady steps forward until he could go no further.

"….A dead end?" questioned Chase.

Sky stared at it questioningly, there appeared to be a strange prehistoric looking image on the stone and the voices were definitely crystal clear now, though he was paying little attention to what they were saying. Sky slowly reached his hand out to touch it, as Chase backed into one of the walls hitting some kind of lever. CLICK. Sky's eyes widened, as he turned to Chase. "…What the hell did you do?"

Chase didn't answer, as he saw the dead end become an entrance that led into some underground liar. His eyes widened when he found three young faces staring back at him. "….Ah, Sky."

Sky turned around and came face to face with the three strangers, but they were in fact not strangers at all, at least not to him. "…..Well, now I know where we are."

"….You picked the wrong place to stumble in on, dude," exclaimed Conner as he got into a fighting stance along with his teammates Ethan and Kira. "Now you two better tell us who you are and why you are here, otherwise there's going to be problems."

"You and your team can stand down, McKnight." Sky glared at him. "…We're all on the same side here."

"Right?" Conner answered, getting a wise grin on his face. "Then explain why you and your military-buddy over there are still holding your blasters at us."

"…He's got a point," agreed Kira.

"Conner…" Ethan turned to his leader. "….He called you McKnight, how'd he know that?" As far as the blue Ranger knew they had never seen these guys before and Dr. Oliver had never mentioned anyone else knowing about the hidden entrance to the lair.

"Yeah. That's another thing, how the hell you know my last name." Conner stared both Chase and Sky down; if there was one thing he has learned so far about being a Ranger it was not to back down. "…Someone better start talking, otherwise you'll be in for a real surprise." Conner nodded to both Ethan and Kira, to raise their wrist to reveal their morphers.

"….Hate to burst your bubble, yet again…." Sky nodded to Chase. "….But we're Rangers too."

"….What!" the three Dino Thunder Rangers exclaimed. As far as they knew they had either met or seen video footage of any present Rangers and these two were not on the video that had been provided by Dr. Oliver.

"…But how…." Kira exclaimed.

"….I don't believe you," announced Conner, thinking this had to be some kind of trick that Mesogog was trying to pull on them.

"Hold it….did you say, _again_…" questioned Ethan.

Sky and Chase put their blasters away and stepped forward carefully, not wanting to give any reason for the Dino Rangers to feel threatened. Sky nodded his head. "Yes…. This is not the first time we've met, some time in the future our paths will cross."

"Future?" Conner questioned, as he stared at the uniform that Chase was wearing, which reminded him a little of another uniform he had seen. "Are you guys with Time Force?"

"…..Time Force?" questioned Chase, staring at the young team. "How do you three know about Time Force?"

"…Oh no…" Sky muttered to himself, not only did he know where they were, he also was pretty damn sure of the date. …Although he should have guessed, knowing full well what Mirloc was after.

"….Because two of your guys are here working with us," answered Kira.

"Yeah. In fact one of them is upstairs right now." Conner widened his eyes, giving a hard look at the two strangers, still not ready to buy their story. "…So maybe she can clear all of this up." Conner walked over to the stairs. "….Hey Jen, can you come down here…"

"No, don't!" shouted Sky.

"What?" Conner turned back to him. "….Afraid she'll blow your cover?"

A few seconds later, feet were heard coming from down the stairs. "What?" Jen was halfway down. "What's the problem?" she asked.

"….Do you know these guys?" Ethan was pointing to the newcomers who had just arrived moments ago. "They said they're with Time Force."

Chase stepped forward, wanting to clear things up. It felt strange seeing Jen again, for him it had only been mere hours, but for her, though she did not remember, it had been a couple of years. "…We actually never said we were with Time Force, we're…."

"SPD," Jen finished, as she stepped off the last step. "….What are you guys doing here? SPD isn't even supposed to exist yet on Earth. ….And then there's the whole time travel aspect of it." She eyed the two young men questioningly.

"….Hold on just a minute here! What the hell is SPD?" exclaimed Conner.

"It doesn't concern you," answered Sky flatly, as he crossed his arms against his chest.

"Doesn't concern me?" laughed Conner as he got in Sky's face. He widened his eyes, as if to measure up to the man before him. "…This is our turf, pal, you may be some big hotshot where you come from, but here we're the ones in charge." He smirked. "…Didn't your mother teach you to respect your Jen announced. "…That's enough. I'm sure they have their reasons." She walked up to them and held out her hand. "…I'm Jen Scotts, Time Force officer; what can we do to help you accomplish your mission?"

Sky eyed her firmly. "…Thanks. But it would be better if you and your team just lie low and let us handle it."

"You sure about that?" She eyed him carefully, seeing the large cut on the side of his hand and the torn, bloodstained shirt he was wearing. "….At least let us patch you up."

"Thanks. But no thanks…."

"Sky!" yelled Chase from behind him. "….Let her clean you up, we both could use the rest anyways." He walked around and eyed his friend. "Besides, what could it hurt?"

Though he wanted to object, now wasn't the best place for him and Chase to be having one of their arguments. "All right. Fine." He then eyed Jen and the three other Rangers. "…But no one else can know we're here," he stated firmly, as he shook her hand.

"Agreed." answered Jen, knowing that probably would be a good idea, as Alex would not be to fond of having any time travel from SPD, especially since they shouldn't be using time travel. Thankfully he and Tommy were off doing something together, Eric was with Hayley and Trent was working on a comic book with a friend.

Jen carefully wrapped a bandage around Sky's chest where his ribs had heavy bruising and she was certain that a good number of them might be cracked. She had already patched up the cut on the side of his head. Sky just remained still, letting her finish up. He would tense up every so often, as he would feel the slight pressure of pulling, but would push the thought of pain away. It was the only thing he could do to prevent himself from being drawn to the young woman before him. All he wanted to do was get out of there, find Mirloc and end this whole thing, while another part of him wanted answers from her. …But he knew he couldn't ask them, not without jeopardizing future events.

"….There, all done." She eyed him, looking into his deep blue eyes. …And for a short moment she felt lost looking into them, as if they reminded her of someone, as if a part of her felt like she knew him. She didn't know what it was but there was something about him…. "You should really be more careful ….because even Rangers can be defeated."

The sound of her voice, talking from experience. If she only knew that the one she spoke of was still alive, only to be killed a few short years later. He could see the sadness in her eyes, ….and for a split moment he felt like he had seen that sadness once before, a distant memory he had long forgotten…. but he wouldn't give into it. He couldn't…. He shook it off, putting up his tough guy _'I don't need anyone' _attitude. "…Thanks for the advice, but I can take care of myself just fine. I don't need anyone telling me how to live my life. I've gotten along just fine on my own."

Jen sighed heavily; the words hurt her slightly, as they reminded her of someone else, but she wouldn't show it. Who was she to tell him what to do; it wasn't like she was anything to him. What reason would he have to listen to her advice? "Right…." she answered. "You've made it pretty clear you don't need anyone." She set the remainder of the bandage roll on the counter. "…I'll go grab you a clean shirt from upstairs, then you and your partner can be on your way." With that said, without another word or glance to anyone Jen made her way up the stairs.

Sky hopped off the medical bed and received a cold look from Chase. "….What?" he asked sharply.

"….You know you should be a little nicer to Jen; she's going through a really difficult time right now," announced Kira. "….Someone she was very close to….." She licked her lips, knowing it was a hard subject for all of them. "….He's just not here anymore."

"So you better be grateful for her patching you up," exclaimed Conner. "….Because if it was me, you wouldn't be worth my time."

"You're probably right….." He licked his lips, keep his face controlled as he eyed the Rangers before him, knowing that in the near future great things would come of them. "But I have my reasons…." He couldn't expect them to understand, but given the situation and his connection with Jen, there was nothing more he could say to them.

"…So exactly when in the future will we see you again?" asked Ethan.

"….Sorry guys, but we can't tell you that." Chase stepped forward. "Whole time continuum thing…"

"He's right," Jen announced, as she came down the stairs carrying a shirt in her hands. "….No one can know their own future." She walked up to Sky and handed him the clean shirt. "…Good luck."

He didn't answer at first, just staring into her eyes, knowing that this would probably be the last time he would ever see her alive, because once he defeated Mirloc and went back to his own time his mother would be dead ….or in some messed up way that made it all the more troubling for him, she wasn't even born yet, not in the time he would be going back to. "Thanks…."

"….Ah, what's that?" questioned Ethan, watching as Chase took what looked like a blaster off of his belt harness.

"I'm afraid SPD has very strong precautions, that anyone we come in contact with must have their memory erased…" answered Chase.

"….Jen, is that true?" asked Conner, not liking the thought of having his memory messed with.

Jen sighed heavily, knowing that the future needed to stay intact, especially since SPD would be in the three's lifetime. "….Yes, I'm afraid it is, especially since it seems that in the future your paths will cross with SPD again." She turned to them. "Having that knowledge could disrupt the timeline…"

"….Will it hurt?" asked Kira.

"No. You won't feel a thing. I promise…." Chase answered, as he pointed the memory eraser ray.

"Wait!" exclaimed Ethan. "….I just want to know one thing, there's still video games in your time, right?"

"Ethan!" both Conner and Kira yelled.

"….Yes. There are still video games," laughed Chase.

* * *

Eric and Lucas returned to the academy, having left the Rangers back at the beach to await the return of Drake, hoping that with him he would bring back Chase, Sky and hopefully a detained Mirloc.

"….Eric, good, you're back," announced Kat, watching as he and Lucas entered the Command Center. She was the only one in the room, as Commander Cruger had gone to talk to young Willie about the untimely fate of his uncle who had died earlier in the morning. "Your wife has been trying to reach you the last half hour, she's on the line. I'll bring her up." Kat pressed the communication button and Hayley's image popped up on the screen along with Tommy.

"Hayley, what's going on? I told you the moment I knew anything I'd call you."

_"….Really? Then why the hell is your cellphone turned off?" _

_"…Hayley, you need to calm down, this won't help the situation,"_ Tommy said as he tried to calm her down.

"Sorry, I had to turn it off so it wouldn't interfere with Drake traveling through the time hole…"

_"….You mean he's already left!" _Her voice was becoming frantic.

"Yes. Lucas and I saw him take off. …Why? What's wrong?" Eric knew something was upsetting Hayley, which concerned him, because it would take a lot to get her upset.

_"….We think that Megan and Sam may have stowed away on the time ship," _said Tommy as he put a comforting arm around Hayley, knowing it was bad enough to be concerned for their son's safe return, but now she had to worry about her daughter and Sam as well.

"We tried to contact the Rangers while you were out on the beach, but the frequency of the time ship must have been disrupting communication with the Ranger morphers," announced Kat.

"…Ah, shit!" Eric slammed his fist against the wall. "Damnit!"

_"….What! …Eric?" _Now Hayley was really upset, she wasn't liking Eric's reaction to the news.

Lucas sighed heavily, as he looked up at the screen. "….Just before the timeship went through; Bridge said he was picking up on three life forms in the time ship."

_"….Oh no." _Hayley had never felt so sick to her stomach; she should have known that Megan would pull something like this, but the thought had never crossed her mind. _"….Drake will know that the two are on board and bring them back, right?" _Her worst fear was that they would go unnoticed and when the timeship arrived at its destination they would sneak off and that would be the last anyone would ever see them.

"…Knowing Alex, I'm sure he's already spotted them," announced Lucas.

"They'll be fine, Hayley. We both know if there is anyone else on this planet beside Tommy or I who cares for the safety of our daughter, it would be Drake." That was all he could really say for the moment, though his heart was racing with fear, but he couldn't let Hayley know that, he needed to stay strong for her. But one thing was for sure, when his little girl got back, …._She is so going to be grounded!

* * *

_

"….You think he's alive?" Sam asked, as he turned to Megan. The two were standing in front of Drake, who was strapped to a chair. The lights in the timeship were flashing and a sort of cooling smoke had spread throughout the ship, as if to cool down the controls and engines.

"He'd not dead, dummy!" exclaimed Megan. "He's still breathing…" Megan snapped her fingers in his face. on, wake up!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"…Well then, it's a good thing I'm not you," she answered back as she continued to try to wake him up.

"I was leaning towards that I don't think he's going to be too happy when he wakes up and sees us here…"

"Hey, I think he's coming around…."

"Ah, my head…." Drake moaned, as he started to open his eyes. Everything was blurry at first, but as everything started to come together his eyes came face to face with two young faces staring back at him. It only took a second for him to realize who the two were; he unstrapped his belt and jumped to his feet, causing the two to jump back. "What the hell are you two doing here!"

"….It was her idea!" Sam pointed to Megan. He thought Sky could be scary, this guy made Sky look like nothing. "She made me do it!"

"Oh, I would believe that." Drake turned to Megan, as he crossed his arms against his chest. "…Megan, this has to be one of the stupidest things you have ever done. This is not one of your games, this is a serious situation; you could have gotten yourself and Sam killed! You have a lot of explaining to do."

"…..I 'm not the only one." Megan crossed her arms against her chest, staring back at her uncle, fully sure now that there was much more to Drake Alexander then she had ever thought possible.

"What did you say!" he answered back all too quickly, he was not about to take any crap from a teenaged girl. He waited to see if she would give a response, but she never answered back, which was probably was a good thing in her case, given the fact that he was not at all pleased by her and Sam stowing away onboard the timeship. "….Good, that's what I thought." He eyed the two. "….Well, now that that's settled, you two might as well make yourselves useful and help me with the equipment."

* * *

After Chase had used the memory eraser, he and Sky had made their way out of his father's cabin and headed straight into the woods, hoping that no one saw them or tried to follow them. Once they were sure they were clear, they stopped running to catch their breath.

Sky turned and looked in the direction of where they had come from, staring longingly, with one thing in mind. He needed to make sure Mirloc got nowhere near the cabin or his mother. "….You going to be okay?" he heard Chase ask him from behind his shoulder.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, turning to face his teammate.

"….Because I know who she is." Chase paused for a moment, not wanting to give Sky any reason to take a swing at him. He was going to do this as slowly and calmly as possible. "I know that Jen is your mother."

If Sky was shocked or surprised by the exclamation by Chase he didn't show it. "My _mother_? on Chase, even you can do better than that." He shook his head, like he had no idea how Chase had gotten that idea in his head. "…She is _not_ my mother, that would be impossible." He widened his eyes. "…She's from a thousand years in the future."

Chase knew Sky might have his reasons for wanting to keep this a secret, but since he was pretty sure Jen was somehow involved in the situation, he wanted Sky to admit that it was the truth. He crossed his arms against his chest. "Cut the bullshit, Sky, we both know that it's true!" he announced. "….I saw a picture of her and your dad, in his nightstand."

"How dare…..!" Sky felt his voice rising. He was face to face with Chase, fuming, but he stepped back and took a few deep breaths to regain control. He hardened his face. "…A picture doesn't mean anything. They were close friends, that was it."

"We both know they were more than close friends."

"If you're so convinced that she's my mother, then explain this to me. It's 2004, that would make me what ….around four?" he questioned, steering his words right into Chase's face. "….You didn't happen to see a little boy walking around did you?"

"No…."

"So there you have your answer." Sky turned away and was about to start off walking, wanting to track down Mirloc, when….

"…Because I don't think you were born here." He knew it was a long shot, but it was the only thing that made any sense at all. "…I think that she became pregnant here and you were born in the future, something happened and you were brought to our time." He watched as Sky stopped dead in his tracks, he waited a few minutes to see if he would turn around and face him, but he never did. "We both know I'm right about this…"

Sky wanted to scream and shout, say that it wasn't true, that it was all a lie, because that's what he wanted it to be. He didn't want it to be true, he didn't want everything he had known his entire life to be a lie, but the truth was what Chase had just proclaimed was the truth. He was in fact born in the far future and brought here five years later. "….So now you think you know all about me." Sky turned to face him. "You think that changes things?"

"…Look, I get it. I get that you're pissed off because not everything about your life was what you thought it was." Chase understood all too well. For the first eighteen years of his life he had thought the people who had raised him had been his parents.

"You don't have a damn idea!" exclaimed Sky, getting right into Chase's face. "…Don't you tell me that you understand how I'm feeling, because you don't. Nobody does, you were raised on another planet, by people who weren't your birth parents. I was raised in another time and have been lied to for years." He couldn't believe that Chase would go as far as to say that he understood what he was going through. "So don't you tell me you understand!"

"….Sky."

"Don't!" Sky put up his hand. "…We're getting off this subject and I don't want it to be brought up again." He hardened his face, pushing back his emotions. "Ever!"


	29. Final Face Off Begins

"Okay, I'm going to go locate Sky and Chase, help them bring in Mirloc if necessary." Drake eyed the two young teens but mainly kept his eyes locked on Megan, knowing she was likely to be the one to disobey his orders. "This means you two are to remain here, so do not step a foot outside this time ship." The last thing he needed on top of making sure Sky and Chase were okay, was to keep an eye on two troublemakers. Things were bad enough as they were.

"….But we can help," exclaimed Megan. She wasn't about to back down, not by a long shot. She was too much like her father to back down without a fight. "I didn't go to all this trouble just to sit and wait around in some time ship."

Drake eyed her closely. In that moment he saw the bullheaded and stubborn attitude of Eric Myers, a very bad combination. He couldn't help but admire her courage, but she had no idea what they were up against. She was still young and naïve, and still had so much more to learn. "No, Megan, you and Sam are to remain here. It would be too dangerous for both of you." He gripped her shoulder, looking her directly in the eye. "One day your day will come and you will understand, but right now you would be too much of a distraction. Mirloc is very powerful…."

"He killed Sky's dad, didn't he?" asked Sam.

Drake sighed heavily and nodded his head. "Yes…"

"…If he's that powerful, you guys are going to need all the help you can get!" exclaimed Megan.

"I said no, Megan. This is not your battle, you are too young. You're not ready!" he stated firmly, as he walked over to the computer console and began pressing a number of keys before checking to make sure his blaster was fully loaded and ready. Without any Ranger powers it would be his only means of protection. He turned to meet the two, his face becoming very serious. "…I need you two to promise me something. If we're not back in two hours, you press the auto-pilot button; it will take you home."

"What!" exclaimed Megan, her face becoming furious. She couldn't believe he would say such a thing. "…No. I won't do it. I won't leave them behind!"

"Listen to me, Megan." Drake grabbed a hold of her shoulder firmly. "….I don't know what's going to happen, but things could get real bad out there…" He bit his lips and sighed heavily, as he looked into her eyes. "Just promise me that you'll go back ….promise me that you'll tell Jenny that I love her." He had been around long enough, had fought enough battles, to know that not everything goes the way you would want it to. Anything could happen.

"But..." She was a loss for words. She could see the look in his eyes, they were uncertain about what would happen, he was scared, something she had never seen.

"Two hours." He showed two fingers. "….If we're not back in two hours, you have to go back. Can I count on you?"

Megan sighed heavily, but nodded her head. "….Two hours."

"Okay. Good." He stood up and took one last look at them, with hopes that he would see them again and that when the time came they would listen and follow his orders. "….I'll see you guys…. ….I'll see you guys real soon."

* * *

The room was silent with just the two staring back at one another. Mike Corbett stood at the end of the table, while Cliff sat in a chair across from him. He had the man who had murdered his little girl, his first born, right in front of him. He could do whatever he wanted to do to him and no one would ever question him, no one even knew he was here, outside from Cassie Chan's mother who didn't have a clue as to who the young man before him was. He could kill him right here and right now and no one would know the difference ….but he would know.

"I wouldn't try to stop you," announced Cliff, finally breaking the silence as he eyed the blaster on Mike's belt harness. "…You have every reason to want me dead."

Mike didn't answer right away. He had wondered what he would say to the one who killed his daughter when the day would come when they would come face to face, and what made it all the harder was that it was a friend, but even more than that, it was also the son of a dear friend of his. He had every reason in the world to want revenge against him, to make him pay for what he had done. "….Maybe I do, Cliff." He walked around and took a seat next to him. "Maybe I do, but…." He sighed heavily, finally truly understanding what an old friend of his had gone through all those years ago. "I taught my children that revenge is never the answer …all it does is cause more pain." He looked into the young man's eyes, knowing he had changed and knowing that he regretted and was truly sorry for what had happened. "….Killing you won't bring Callie back, it won't take the pain of losing her away." No matter what, he would always have that empty feeling in the pit of his stomach, a feeling he knew would never go away, no matter how much time would go by.

Mike took the time to be grateful that neither his son nor Chase were here, knowing that they could not handle having Callie's murderer here. Though he had taught his son that revenge was never the answer, his young son was very passionate, perhaps too passionate, which was one of the reasons why it had been so hard to let him go and fulfill his dream of being a Ranger. ….Then there was Chase, the man who had been going to marry his daughter, who had loved her just as much as he always would. It had broken Chase's heart to lose her, it was also what caused him to leave; without her there was nothing left for him here. He knew if Chase had the chance he would kill Cliff and there was no amount of words he could say to stop it from happening.

"No…" Cliff bowed his head down. "…It won't." He looked up to meet the old Commander's eyes. "….I never meant for it to happen, but…."

"I know…." Mike reached out and gripped his shoulder. "What happened to you was a terrible and horrible thing. It is not your fault…"

_It is not your fault…._ What a joke! Cliff pushed Mike away from him. "Not my fault!" He jumped from his chair, anger coming over him. "Not my fault! Damnit! It is my fault!" he yelled. "It is my fault!"

"No! It is not your fault!" Mike jumped to his feet and firmly grabbed a hold of Cliff's shoulders. "It is not your fault. …You were just a child when they took you away," he said again. "Don't ever think that it's your fault."

"You weren't there…." He shoved Mike away. "…I didn't listen to him. I didn't go to meet her, I went back…" He gulped in heavily, feeling the overwhelming guilt of the one decision he had made that not only affected his life, but many others. "…I went back. So don't tell me it is not my fault…"

Mike could see that Cliff was having trouble holding himself together, he could see the anger and fury fuming inside of him. …But unlike many he was the one person who could understand him, because he knew what it felt like. Maybe not from his own experience, but all those years ago, when he and the Magna Defender were connected he knew the feeling, the anger, the pain, the feeling like it's all over and nothing matters anymore. "….You can't blame yourself for what they did to you, because if you do, they will win, Cliff. They will win and everything that you have done up until now, trying to make amends, will mean nothing." A part of him knew he could end Cliff's suffering by killing him, but he couldn't, for a number of reasons, and not just because he was Cassie's son, but because it would go against everything they stood for. He took a deep breath and looked the young man hard in the eyes. "…..Let me ask you this, Cliff, had you known what you know now, would you still not have listened? Would you still have gone back to help your father?"

He didn't even have to think about the answer; it would always be the same answer. There was no question in his mind, even if the whole universe were to fall before his eyes. "….Yes," he whispered. "Yes, I would still have gone back to help him."

"…And that's why I won't kill you, why you can't let them win." He licked his lips, clearing his throat. "…Because despite everything you've been through, everything you've done, you would still be willing to try to save your father, even knowing the cost it would come at." Even after everything, Cliff was still willing to give up his life to save his hero, his father.

"….Then it was a mistake for me to come here." Cliff pulled himself together and looked Mike hard in the eyes. "Perhaps I came to see the wrong one…."

"Cliff!" Mike called after him, before the young man walked out the door. "….We both know you didn't come here looking for life to be put an end to."

"….I didn't come looking for forgiveness either."

"I know." Mike cleared his throat. "…You came for _her_."

Cliff didn't turn to face him, there would be no fooling Mike Corbett as to why he really had come here …..even though a part of him wanted his nightmare to be over, but he knew it never would be, it would always be there. "…I just wanted to see her."

"You should know she has been in a coma ever since the war on Sirius ended, until today…" Mike took a few steps closer. "…She woke up because of you."

"….I can't stay here." He turned to face Mike, a man he would always feel honored by knowing. "We both know that not even you can convince everyone to understand."

"…She's your mother, you owe her enough to let her know you're alive."

"The Cliff she knew died a long time ago; it's better this way…." He licked his lips. "…it's better that she doesn't know what happened to that little boy."

"She's had experience in this kind of situation….."

Cliff cut him off; he knew Mike was doing all he could to get him to stay a little longer, to get him to go see his mother one more time. "…It's different when it's your own. I couldn't bear to see the look in her eyes, the heartbreak in her voice. She has already had her heart broken once. I won't let that happen, not again."

"…And waking up over a decade later, to learn that you've been in a coma all that time and then to find out that your friends are all dead, is so much better?"

He looked the older man in the eyes. "….Take care of her for me," and then in a quick flash before Mike could even react Cliff disappeared out of sight.

* * *

"Hey, you know she'll be okay," Lucas said as he sat down next to Eric outside of the SPD Academy. After it became clear that Megan and Sam had stowed away on the time ship, Eric had gone outside to get some fresh air before Hayley and Tommy arrived with the kids. "….Alex will make sure of that."

"I know." He knew that Drake would make sure nothing happened to Megan or Sam even if that meant having to glue their butts to the chairs, but that wasn't what really concerned him… "I just wish..."

"That she wasn't like you," finished Lucas.

"…Yeah." Eric turned to him and smiled faintly. He didn't mind having a daughter who was strong and who could take care of herself, but what scared him more than anything was her getting stronger, to the point that she would be putting herself in danger. …And if the future would have its way, she would one day become a Power Ranger, just like him. And at the moment all he wanted her to be was his little girl, because it didn't seem too long ago that he was holding her in his arms and changing her diapers. "….Guess I'm not ready for her to be growing up."

"I feel just like that for every single one of my bunch." He had to laugh, thinking about the old days, knowing that back then he would never in a million years image himself and Eric having this conversation. …Back then he had never thought he would be a family guy; he was always the player, just looking to have a good time, but that all changed. …And then Eric - who would have thought the big hot shot would get married and start a family.

"….Hey. I didn't mean any disrespect about the whole mutant thing." Knowing that he might have been a little out of line, before when Lucas and Drake were explaining the whole situation.

"It's okay. I know you're just looking out for Sky."

Eric laughed lightly. "….Problem is, he says he doesn't need anyone to be looking out for him. He's filled with so much anger and resentment." He sighed heavily. "He's probably a lot different from the little boy you remember."

"….People change, Eric, look at us." He smiled. "…I mean, you're not the jackass I knew all those year ago."

"And I take it with all those kids you have, you're not the party boy you used to be…." He grinned.

"Nope. Can't say I remember the last party, beside birthday parties, that I've been to." He gripped Eric's shoulder. "…Sky will get through this, it's just going to take him some time to understand."

Eric nodded his head, but he knew it might take a long while until Sky would ever understand his past. Even to this day, there were things about his own past that he still didn't understand, his parents, everything that had happened to him, why nobody wanted him or even gave him a chance back when he had been a kid, just looking for someone to understand him.

* * *

For the last half hour Sky and Chase hadn't spoken a word to each other. Sky acted like he was on the warpath, tracking down Mirloc; unfortunately that was going to be a little difficult as they had nothing with them to track him down with. They would have to wait for him to make his move. In that time Chase had taken notice that they hadn't left the general area of where his father's cabin was. ….And he knew that there was something that Sky wasn't telling him, something that he knew had to do with whatever Mirloc had told him.

"What he tell you, Sky?"

"What did who tell me?"

"Mirloc…. Back at the parking lot, I saw you two talking."

"….That's between him and me," he answered harshly as he continued to walk through the forest, keeping his eyes open, knowing that Mirloc could be anywhere.

"Well, that's obvious, seeing as how he tried to kill mini-you." Chase knew he was going to push a little harder to get it all out of Sky, but he was fairly certain on his own why they had ended up here and just what Mirloc would be after here. He just needed Sky to confide in him, so that the two could come up with a plan and hopefully this time work together, as a team. "….He's here for her, isn't he?" He grabbed Sky by the shoulder, forcing him to turn around and face him.

"Mirloc wants me, not her." Sky widened his eyes, he wanted to deny the fact that his mother's life was in danger, he didn't want to admit to Chase or even himself that Mirloc would go so far as killing his own mother to get rid of him. "…This isn't about her."

"It may not be about her, but since this whole thing started, every damn time, Mirloc has either tried to kill you directly or somebody that's linked to you!" He couldn't understand why Sky wasn't letting him in - or maybe he could, the two hadn't exactly been the best of friends lately, always at each other throats, bickering at one another. But now was the time for that to stop, he had a feeling if they didn't start working together that everything they both held dear would be lost, forever. "Damnit Sky! ….Just tell me what the hell is going on!"

"….How 'bout I answer that question for you?" announced a voice.

Both Sky and Chase quickly turned around to find Mirloc standing behind them. Both of them felt their hearts racing as they got into a fighting stance, knowing that Mirloc had the upper hand by catching them both off guard. Mirloc smirked in a mocking sort of way, taking the time to taunt and poke some fun before he got down to business. "I'm trying to prevent your dear red leader from ever being born." A wide grin covered his face. "…But I'm sure by now you would have figured that out, after all you are the great Chase Ryder, one of the most powerful Rangers to ever exist, just like your _daddy_…."

"….Hate to break it to you, pal," Chase stepped forward keeping his eyes locked on Mirloc, "….but you would have to be one damn fool to think that we will let you get anywhere near Jen."

Mirloc laughed mockingly at the boldness of the young blue Ranger. "….Do you really think you can stop me?" he questioned the two, darting his eyes over at Sky, who hadn't moved a muscle. "…We have faced off how many times, and yet you have not been able to defeat me."

"You know what they say, third time's the charm."

"Yes. But for who?" Mirloc locked his eyes right onto Sky. While Chase was a threat, the real threat was the red Ranger before him. "…Your luck has run out, boy, this time I will defeat you and then I will go after your dear mother."

"That's where you're wrong!" announced Sky. "….Because I will never allow that to happen, you won't get anywhere near her."

"And why is that? You actually think _you_ can defeat me? You are worthless, just like your father. He was just as young and naive as you were and look what happened to him." Mirloc laughed. "What makes you think you'll fare any better?"

Sky knew he needed to hold his composure together. He couldn't let Mirloc try to get to him through his words; that had been his mistake the last time. He bit his lip hard and tightened his face. "…Because….." Sky glanced over to Chase, knowing that alone he would not be able to defeat Mirloc. He would never be able to defeat him on his own. "….I'm not alone. That's been my mistake the last two times. I was trying to fight my own battle." He knew now that while, yes, this battle was between him and Mirloc, that he alone would not be able to do it. He needed help with this battle. Mirloc had always tried to make it about him, that this was his battle and that he alone had to face it, but the truth was sometimes the greatest battles fought are better fought having a friend by your side, backing you up.

"How touching… Too bad your newfound declaration won't last for long."

"We'll see about that!" announced Chase as he nodded to Sky. "Ready, partner."

"…I've been ready for this my whole life," exclaimed Sky, as both of them morphed into action, planning on this being the final battle they would face against Mirloc.

* * *

"…Megan, what are you doing?" asked Sam as he hung over her shoulder, as she played around with some handheld device that she had found in one of the storage cabinets of the time ship a few minutes after Drake had left. That was over a half hour ago.

"Trying to get the hang of this tracking device," she answered back. It was a slightly complicated device, the technology was unlike anything she has ever seen before, but then what do you expect - she was sitting in a time ship after all. "….Did you know that I can pick up on any Ranger morpher frequency off of this thing?"

"…That's cool, I guess, but what does that have to do with us?" asked Sam, knowing he probably was going to regret asking the question where Megan was concerned.

"Because as soon as I pick up on Sky and Chase's morpher, you're going to be teleporting us there."

"But Drake said that we should stay here, and if he's not back in a little more than an hour we're supposed to head back," exclaimed Sam, not liking where this was going. "…You promised."

"I also promised, when I joined the academy, never to leave my friends behind." There was no way in hell she would be returning back to their time, not without Sky and Chase in the timeship with her.

"….But we're going to get in so much trouble."

"We're already in trouble," she announced, knowing very well her parents were going to ground her for a very long time. "….We might as well do something while we're here." She eyed Sam and shrugged her shoulders. "…Look, if you don't want to come you don't have to; I can just follow the tracker to where they are." Either way she was going to do this, with or without his help.

Sam sighed heavily, knowing very well that Megan's mind was made up, but he also knew this was very dangerous. But he just couldn't let her go off on her own, she was his friend and he was supposed to be there for her no matter what. …Both Sky and Chase were his friends too, he hoped one day to be just like them, a Power Ranger. Someone who is not afraid of the risks or the danger, someone who would always be there, someone you could count on, no matter what. "…No. I'm going with you." He held out his hands. "We're in this together."

"I knew I could count on you, Sam." Megan gave him a high-five. "Thanks, partner…"

* * *

Though they were finally starting to work together, Mirloc was still a handful. He was one of the most powerful beings that either one had ever been faced with. It didn't seem to matter how many of his moves they countered, Mirloc was always ready for combat; he was proving to be a difficult opponent who wasn't going to be taken down easily. Not while his mind was set on killing every existence of Sky. He was a man on a mission with a purpose, which can be a very dangerous combination.

"Give up. Make it easy on yourselves and surrender," taunted Mirloc, watching as the two regrouped to catch a quick breather. "It's only a matter of time; one way or another I will get to her and nobody," he locked his eyes on the red Ranger, "…Not even you will be able to stop me."

"…Think again, Mirloc!" announced a voice. A man jumped over the two Rangers and now stood in front of them. Drake locked his eyes firmly on the purple creature, who he was going to make damn sure got nowhere near Jen and would not succeed in killing Sky or preventing his birth. "You're outnumbered, three to one…."

"What are you doing here!" exclaimed Sky, not at all happy at the arrival of Drake, especially after everything that had happened.

"Making sure that the future stands as it is." He drew his blaster out, pointing it at Mirloc."….And that this freak of nature never harms anyone again…"

"….Who are you?" demanded Mirloc, wanting to know who the older man before him was. "You look like Wesley Collins…."

"I have only gone by two names. These days I'm known as Drake, but years ago …..or in a future many years from now, I'll be known as Alex Drake, ….Time Force officer." His voice was hard, he wanted to make it perfectly clear as to who he really was. He wanted to see the fear light up in Mirloc's eyes; the person who stood before him was indeed a Time Force Officer. "….And I know who you really are, Mirloc."

"….Time Force, now there is a name I haven't heard in years." He laughed. "…But you must be a fool if you think that frightens me, Time Force." He was not the least bit intimidated by Drake's words, not at all. '….That was Omni's fear, not mine." He gloated, seeing the shocked look on the old officer's face. "We may be alike in many ways, but he was a fool, and he died a fool…" He smirked. "…Besides, you are not a threat to me, you're not even a Ranger."

"I may not be a Ranger anymore," exclaimed Drake. "…But I can assure you I still have plenty of fight left in me." A good many years might have gone by since he had faced off in a battle, one that could even claim his life, but he was ready for this ….he had to be. Everything would depend upon it.

"What do you think you're doing? ….You're the last person on the face of this Earth that I would ever want help from," announced Sky. He didn't want Drake to get involved in this, he might have accepted Chase's help, but there was no way he would ever accept anything from Drake. He wanted nothing to do with the man.

"…Sky…" Chase started, but then came to an understanding as to why Sky held so much resentment towards Drake. …If Drake was from the future, then he was more than likely the one who had brought Sky to the present when he was just a child.

"….I don't think the boy likes you very much," laughed Mirloc, taking note of the tension between the two, something he was sure he might be able to use to his advantage. "…Perhaps you should run along and I'll spare you …for now."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Drake wasn't about to be taunted by Mirloc's words, he had been around far too long, had faced off against hundreds of criminals and killers of all kinds. He sighed heavily, as he backed towards Sky and Chase, knowing they needed a moment to regroup.

He turned to Sky, knowing he had every right in the world not to want him here. "…Look, Sky, I know you don't like me, but I'm not going anywhere."

"Why?" demanded the red Ranger. "…I didn't ask you to come after me." He was outraged that Drake had the nerve to show up at a time like this, especially when they weren't on good terms.

"Because many years ago I made a promise to someone who loved you more than anything." And he intended to make good on that promise, whether Sky liked it or not.

The red Ranger took a deep breath, trying to push back his anger for the time being. Right now wasn't the time or the place for him to be getting into it with Drake, the man who at one time had been his father. "….Just try to stay out of my way."

"….Oh goodie, the more the merrier. I always wanted to know what it would be like to take three lives at once."

"….Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's so not going to happen," exclaimed Chase.

"We'll see!" exclaimed Mirloc as he jumped in the air, trying to make his mark on Drake, but the former Time Force Officer was ready for him and began shooting his blaster at the purple beast while he was still in mid air, but Mirloc easily blocked the shots deflecting them away from harm.

Sky and Chase took charge when Mirloc was back on his feet, ready and rolling, the two stuck together, trying to bring him down, but Mirloc anticipated their every move as if he were reading their minds. "…Foolish Rangers, you are no match for me." He swung his leg around, kicking Chase hard in the gut and sending the blue Ranger flying towards a tree.

The red Ranger reacted quickly, forcing himself right into Mirloc and throwing punches and kicks; for a moment he was successful in pushing Mirloc back a few feet. He then round kicked Mirloc in the head, causing Mirloc to topple over. Sky stood over him, fists clenched together. "…It's you that should give up, Mirloc, make it easy on yourself and turn yourself in."

Mirloc smirked and raised his eyes up. "…Turn myself in." He laughed. "We both know I'll never turn myself in. …If you want me stopped, you're going to have to _kill_ me."

"Don't tempt me." He could want nothing more than to rid the world and the universe of this violent murderer, who had done nothing but litter the ground with the blood of those he had killed. "…Because you being dead …I wouldn't lose any sleep over it."

"…_Sky!_" announced Drake, knowing that Mirloc was up to something, he could feel his heart pounding.

"…Stay out of this!" he shouted.

Mirloc grinned, knowing now was as good a time as any; he could see that Chase was slowly starting to pull himself together. He carefully reached behind his back and pulled out a small blaster, making sure to keep it hidden. "…I couldn't agree more, stay out of this, Time Force." Quicker than a bolt of lighting Mirloc jumped to his feet, swung around and shot Drake head on. "…This is between me and the boy."

Sky watched as Drake was sent flying back, grabbing a hold of his chest, gasping for air. Hs heart skipped a beat, almost as if some part of him hidden deep inside was actually concerned about the man he had wished would just leave him alone. He turned around to see Mirloc laughing at the sight. "…What's so funny!" he demanded.

"I got you and you don't even know it."

"How do you figure…" Sky stepped a few feet forward, taking a quick glance behind him; though Drake had been hit hard, he was going to be okay and Chase was starting to get to his feet, as far as Sky was concerned Mirloc was still outnumbered.

Mirloc just stared at him, grinning, with one hand behind his back holding a small ballish looking contraption. …Just seconds before he was going to throw it right at Sky, two others joined the battle scene, right smack in the middle.

"…This is a little too close, Sam!" exclaimed Megan, knowing this was not the best location for them to have ended up.

"Megan! Sam!" shouted both Chase and Drake.

"….Say hello to your father for me, boy."

Sky stood frozen, watching as Mirloc threw the ball at him. He had to react quickly, needing to protect those behind him he formed a shield, but there wasn't enough time for him to get any of the shield in front of himself, everything was so slow in happening. He was vaguely aware of Chase and Drake rushing to their feet, and shoving Megan and Sam to the ground, using their bodies to protect them from the blast.

Drake could do nothing but watch as Sky held the shield together, wanting to protect them, as the bomb hit him head on. He could feel his heart breaking, knowing there was no possible way for the young red Ranger to survive that kind of hit.

"…I'm sorry," Megan started.

"A little late for that…." Chase answered, as he continued to shield Megan with his body, watching as Sky's shield shimmered away. There was a quick bright flash of light and then it was over, the only thing left to watch was Sky's body dropping to the ground, unmoving.

Mirloc began to laugh, watching as the four stood up. "…What a fool, just like his father."

"Is he..." Megan didn't know what to think, she had her eyes locked on Sky, waiting for him to move ….but nothing happened. She started to push past Chase, only to have her brother pull her back.

"Stay back, before you get yourself hurt," he shouted. "This isn't a game, Megan…." Chase then grabbed Sam by the shoulder, pulling him back towards him, as Drake stepped forward. "…You two head over to that tree and don't move unless I tell you to. Is that understood!"

Megan couldn't answer, all she had wanted to do was help, she hadn't meant for this to happen. No words would come out of her mouth, it was left up to Sam to answer. "…Yes." answered Sam, he too was feeling that sick feeling in his stomach. This wasn't how things were supposed to go.

"…So sorry, I guess you two will never be able to resolve your problems," mocked Mirloc, as he sent taunting looks to Drake.

"You're going to pay for this. I swear to you on my life you will pay!" Drake yelled as loud as he could. "…Even if I go down with you." He knelt down next to Sky, grabbing his morpher. "….I'm sorry, Sky."

"You really have no idea, do you." Mirloc directed his eyes at the two, but mainly locked them on Drake.

"…Oh, I'm fairly certain I have a pretty good idea." He snapped the morpher on his wrist. "It's time to show you what an old school Ranger is made of." Drake pressed the activation button. CLICK…. But nothing. He pressed it again, but nothing happened. It was just like it was with Wes's morpher.

"What's wrong?" asked Chase, feeling his heart race. He knew very well there was no way he alone would be able to take down Mirloc and without Ranger powers Drake could only last for so long. "…The morpher's not damaged."

"…I don't know." Drake's heart began to race faster and faster. _What was wrong? It should have worked. There is no logical reason why it shouldn't be working_.

Mirloc's laughter began to ring in all of their ears…….


	30. Truth Revealed

Drake could feel his heart pounding rapidly against his chest; he tried again and again but the morpher would not activate, almost as if it were a toy imitation. And what made it all the worse was staring at Sky's battered body in front of him, his clothes torn, his face covered in blood, ribs sticking out in his chest …..he was a mess, a sorrowful sight. Mirloc just stood there laughing; the sight of their hopelessness brought pure joy to him. This was exactly the reaction he was hoping for, it would be so easy now to finish them off and then do away with the children, who would be an added bonus.

Several feet away Megan and Sam hung back against a tree, their faces pale, not sure what to do now other than to listen to what Chase had told them moments ago, to remain where they were until further instruction. Megan kept her eyes locked on Sky's motionless body, hoping to see something, some sign that he was still alive, that he was still there, but she saw nothing. She knew what loss was …she had been to funerals, but they were no one she really knew, only her parents' friends. The closest she had ever come to losing anyone who was dear to her heart was when Trip, their dog, had passed away due to old age ….and now she could be faced with another loss, a loss she wasn't ready for. on Sky, get up," she pleaded softly to herself. Not even a second later she felt the comforting hand of Sam grip her shoulder, letting her know he was there and just like always, no matter what, he would be there for her …even at the cost of getting in trouble.

"He'll be okay….. Sky's a fighter, no one can beat him." But even as Sam spoke those words, deep down in the pit of his stomach he was having doubts. His mother had been a true fighter, she was strong ….and she had died.

"Drake, maybe you should get yourself and the kids out of here. I'll take care of him," announced Chase. It was becoming clear to him that he might be the only chance they had left. He glanced down at Sky's limp body -- his leader, his teammate, his roommate and his friend ….He felt a sick feeling in his stomach knowing that a lot of things had gone unresolved between the two and now probably would always remain that way. "…You should get… Sky's body…." But he couldn't even bring himself to say those words.

For a moment Drake was almost contemplating getting himself and the kids out of there, get them to safety …but that would guarantee Chase's defeat. Mirloc was just far too powerful, more powerful than he had ever imagined him to be. How had Eric and Wes lasted long enough against him for him to be brought in? …But an even more important question was looming over and over in his mind: why wasn't he able to activate Sky's morpher?

"….You are such a fool!" gloated Mirloc as he stood his ground. There was no need for him to make an attack because he had already won; there was no way they could stop him. No one could… "I would have thought you, Time Force, of all people, would have figured it out by now," he laughed in amusement. "…But it seems ignorance runs in the family."

_What was he talking about? What hadn't he figured out by now? _Drake began replaying the events over and over in his mind, but he wasn't getting what he was missing. Was Mirloc just trying to play mind games with him, get inside his head…? And then something hit him, not literally, but as if the lights in his brain turned on. "….Mind games." It was all starting to come together piece by piece. "….You can read our minds; you read right into our thoughts and used it against us."

"….That's impossible, Omni was the only one with that kind of power," exclaimed Chase.

"You weren't there for the briefing. Mirloc is Omni's clone…."

"I prefer: his better half." Mirloc's eyes glowed a bright yellow, enough to send chills down anyone's spine. "After all….."

"…You killed him," finished Drake. "I don't know how you did it, I can't explain it, but I know you did it. It's the only thing that explains your great gain of strength and power."

"Perhaps you are not as ignorant as your two counterparts were…." Mirloc taunted at Drake, but in such a way that he found himself feeling gratitude at finding an admirable opponent. "…Would you like to know how I did it? I'll let it be your dying wish: to know how I killed Omni without anyone ever suspecting I was there." He laughed. "…After all, I had the _perfect _disguise…."

* * *

"…Commander Cruger, what do I owe this visit to?" asked Slate as he peered out of the shadows of his darkened SPD prison cell, where he had been ever since he was arrested. "It's not every day I get a visitor…" He was cunning and sly to say the least, but in the business he had been in, he had to be.

Cruger's face was grim, knowing getting answers from Slate or any Mimican wouldn't be easy. Not to mention the fact that you could never trust any words that come out of the mouth of one of them. Stealing people's identities and lying was one of their top specialties, but in this case and situation Cruger was hopeful that perhaps this time, for once, one of them would be straight with him. 'I don't come on good terms, I'm afraid…"

"Do you SPD officers ever?" Slate crossed his arms against his chest, knowing that Cruger wouldn't be here unless he wanted answers. ….Answers that only he could provide. "….Whatever it is you want, Cruger, you can forget it."

"I thought you might say that, but you might change your mind when you hear what I have to say…"

"There is nothing that you could say that would make me change my mind."

"Your brother, Zate …I'm afraid he's dead." Cruger paused for a few moments, looking into the eyes of Slate, seeing a slight change in the look on his face. The cockiness that had once been there had been depleted. And if there was any doubt… "…I have video footage to prove it."

Slate sighed slightly. There was no need for any video; he didn't need proof of any sorts. Words were enough for him to know it was true, because eventually it happened to all of them. They had been foolish all those years ago; they had basically all given up their lives right then and there, including any of their unborn. "..That won't be necessary."

"I didn't think it would be."

"….What do you want to know?" It was all over now; most of his race had been depleted. He was in all likelihood all that remained of his race. He owed it to his brothers and sisters to finally let the truth be known.

"Everything you can tell me about your work with Mirloc." Though the information he might learn may have come a little too late, it was still information they needed to know. Time Force knew very little about Mirloc, the creature that Omni had created; there was so much they and even he didn't know about him. But Slate had worked with Mirloc, or at least there was information that hinted that the Mimicans had a connection with the purplish beast.

"…It was the worst possible decision we could have ever made with both of them, …that is what my father told me." Though he had just been a young boy at the time of the decision, he remembered it well. Their planet was dying, and then these two powerful beings had shown up out of nowhere with promises of hope, but like all things strings had been attached.

"Both?" questioned Cruger.

"…Yes, Omni and Mirloc."

Cruger remained silent as Slate told his story, a twisted turn of events that only made Cruger sick to his stomach. A feeling that caused him to feel sorry for the imprisoned Mimican, something which was very rare for him to ever feel for any criminal he had locked up. It was the kind of story you would find in a horror movie, something so unexpected that he himself couldn't believe it …didn't want to believe it, but knew it all to be true….

About a half hour later Cruger walked into the Command Center, to find Kat working away on her computer. She glanced up and saw a look in his eyes that she had never seen before: it was like he had seen a ghost. "…He told you, didn't he?"

The old dog had heard a lot of things in the years he had lived, but never had he heard anything like this. He sighed heavily and looked up at one of his oldest friends. "….I wish he hadn't."

The way he said it brought an eerie sickly feeling to her stomach, because she knew it took a lot to shake up this old dog. Whatever Slate had told him could not have been good. "It was that bad?"

"….We should have known. …..We should have known." He bowed his head down, slamming his fist against the console. "I should have seen it!"

"…Seen what?" asked Eric, as he and Lucas entered into the Command Center.

* * *

"….No one ever would have suspected it was so easy," Mirloc hissed as he began to tell his story, one he knew would come to a shock to the former Time Force officer. Already he knew it was the last thing that had ever crossed Drake Alexander aka Alex Drake's mind. "…Your Ranger comrades didn't defeat Omni by mere luck, they defeated him because I was there and I allowed it."

"What?" Chase exclaimed and turned to Drake. "….Drake, what the hell is he talking about?"

"I have no idea…" Drake could feel his heart racing, fearing what the answer would be. And as Mirloc told his story, the once proud and strong-willed man watched as the world he had once known came crashing down….

Mirloc started his story off at the point just a few minutes before Omni's life would be claimed, back when Sky was being held captive, imprisoned in the body armor suit, and his only way out was to be teleported out by future Sam, but not without some help from his father….

""_No one is leaving here alive!" hissed Omni, as he began reaching his long tentacles out towards the Omega Ranger, trying to prevent him from reaching the injured Sky._

"_Oh no, you don't!" yelled Wes as he used everything he had to stop Omni from reaching Sam. He then quickly used his sword and poked Omni in the eye, knowing that would give them the time they needed. "Hurry Sam, just a few seconds."_

_Sam grabbed a hold of Sky, who was a little disoriented. He then looked back up at Wes. "I got him. I'm ready for you now."_

_Wes sighed heavily as his eyes fell onto his son. __If only…__ "I can't." He hated seeing the hurt look in his son's eyes. "I'm sorry, Sky. But it was my time a long time ago." He bit his lips. "I just want you to know that I'm very proud of you, and I love you with all my heart."_

"_No. Dad, I can't lose you, not again!" He had just gotten him back; he couldn't lose him. It had been hard enough the first time; to go through it a second time seemed almost unbearable._

"_You'll never lose me. I'm always here for you, just like today." No matter how far away he was._

_Sky knew his father was right, as hard as it was he had to let him go. But at least this time he would get the chance to say goodbye. "I love you, Dad."_

_Wes smiled. "I know." His eyes then fell on Sam. "It's time, Sam."_

"_Right."_

_He watched, as the Omega Ranger teleported out safely with Sky. Then a second later, he grabbed a hold of his head, screaming out of pain, as bright purple bolts of lightning flashed around him. "…What's going on, what's wrong with you!" demanded Omni._

_A sinister laughter then emerged and then a bright flash nearly blinded Omni. Once it was gone, Wes the red Time Force Ranger was gone, but in his place was Mirloc, staring back at him with his dark yellow eyes. "….Hello brother," he hissed._

"…_Mirloc!" exclaimed Omni; he was in total shock. "You? ...How could you, I had him right where I wanted him! Did you forget the plans we made?" He was furious, his eye was fuming. "…And how dare you keep __**that**__secret from me!"_

"_There's been a little change in plans," he smirked. "….And I'm afraid you'll only get in the way."_

"_I created you, how dare you do this to me!"_

"_Yes. It is ironic to have your creature be the one to send you to your demise, but I should thank you -- because if it weren't for you I wouldn't exist." He grinned in amusement as he began to transport himself out. "…It's been nice knowing you."_

"…_If I'm going down, you're going down with me!" But it was too late. Just as Omni reached out to grab him Mirloc was gone, just when the powerful self-destruct of the Q-Rex exploded._

Drake felt a lump in his throat, knowing that Mirloc was getting the reaction he wanted to see. This was unlike anything he had ever dreamed of; he was damn near speechless, he didn't know what to say or think ….or even to believe. But it did bring a few things to his attention that he had been confused about before. "…So you allowed Sky's life to be spared back then so you could have Omni killed?"

"…Perhaps I was wrong, maybe you are smarter than your ancestors," Mirloc gloated. "…But then again, it doesn't take a genius to figure that one out. With Sky's force field, a mere explosion wouldn't have been able to penetrate it. He needed to be out of the way…"

"…Maybe." Drake nodded his head as he drew out his blaster, briefly glancing down at Sky's motionless body.

"Drake, where are you going with this…" asked Chase, not having a clue as to what the older man was trying to get at.

Drake ignored the young blue Ranger's question and continued on with his theory or what he believed. ….What he wanted to be true and not true at the same time. He had to push away the sick feeling in his stomach, knowing that what lay before him was far more important than how he was feeling inside. "…But you weren't exactly alone in your quest to kill Omni." He licked his lips and bent his eyes right on Mirloc. "…Were you?"

"…Now what on Earth are you trying to get at, Time Force?"

"Don't try to play me, Mirloc." Drake set his blaster onto its fullest power. "…I've figured it out, thanks to your little story." Mirloc remained still and silent, not moving an inch. "…You see, before I came here I went to Silver Hills, to Bio-Lab, to get Wes's morpher so I could get your ass." He felt his face stiffen. "…Only one problem, the morpher didn't work." He tossed Sky's morpher in his hands and then tossed it over to Mirloc who caught it. "….Just like Sky's."

"…That's a very interesting story, but what's your point?"

"…My point _is_, it's time to let the cat out of the bag." Drake pointed his blaster at Sky's body, his finger wrapping around the trigger.

"…What the hell are you doing!" exclaimed Chase, who could hear both Sam and Megan yelling at the top of their lungs for Drake to stop his madness. "Are you nuts, you have that blaster set to destroy…That can kill him!"

"He's already dead." He looked over his shoulder, eyeing Chase in such a way that showed he needed the young man to trust him in this decision, because he wasn't sure he trusted himself in that moment. "…Just trust me." He locked his eyes tight on the motionless body of his one-time son. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest, knowing that once he did this there would be no going back; his theory would be proven right or wrong here. Either way, he would have to live with the consequences. "…Please let me be right..." He pulled the trigger.

"…I can't watch!" Megan turned her head away, unable to watch as Drake pulled the trigger on Sky's lifeless body. She for the life of her didn't understand why he was doing this, but deep down inside her instincts told her there had to be a reason. Drake was not the type of guy to do something just to do it, there always was a reason behind it.

Sam's young eyes were unable to watch as well as he bowed his head down, not wanting to watch as the powerful blast made contact with Sky's body, a man he had once called friend. He didn't understand why Drake was doing this, he hadn't even really known the guy until today, but his gut feeling told him he could trust Drake …or at least that's what he wanted, to trust him.

Against his better judgment, Chase stood back and allowed Drake to blast away at his former partner. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was something about the look in Drake's eyes, the sound in his voice, pleading for him to trust him, to understand. There was something Drake knew, something about this whole situation ….that had to be it. Something big was going on here, something so big that it was too much for him to comprehend. So he remained there, locking his eyes on the lifeless body of his former teammate, and waited.

The blast hit right on Sky's body, a bright light flash and a crackling noise emerged around them and shimmered away to reveal a still lifeless body, but not of who they would have expected …well, at least not Chase, Megan or Sam, whose eyes all lit up in total shock. They couldn't believe it.

"…..A Mimican!" Chase uttered under his breath, there lying on the ground where Sky had once been was a Mimican.

"…A Mimican?" Sam turned to Megan. "Does that mean….."

"….God, I hope so," sighed Megan, knowing chances were slim, but she had to hope that there was a chance, even if it was a small one.

Mirloc wasn't at all pleased that the former Time Force Officer had figured it out, but he should have known that it wouldn't take long, in fact he starting to become pleased that 'the cat' had been let out of the bag. The look on Drake's face was enough for him to feel a great amount of pride in what he had done. "….So you've figured it out, have you? I should commend you for your efforts, Time Force, to bad you figured it out far too late. Otherwise you might have been able to prevent this from happening…."

Drake hardened his eyes, pointing his blaster straight at Mirloc, his finger wrapping around the trigger button. "…Let him go, Mirloc. now, Time Force, do you really think I'd give him up so willingly?" He crooked his head as he walked back and forth, keeping his eyes in contact with Drake's. "…Besides, I'm the only thing keeping him alive. That was a real bomb I threw at him. He won't survive for long if I release him. ….He'll die and look just as pathetic as that Mimican."

"…I'll take my chances."

"If you want him so badly, come and get him!" exclaimed Mirloc, who was not about to go down without a fight.

Drake glared at the blue Ranger, knowing that he was going to need help with this. "…You up for this? Because there will be no going back after this."

"I'm not going anywhere. Whatever it takes, I'm with you…"

Megan and Sam stood back, watching, as both Drake and Chase attacked Mirloc head on, knowing that both of them were up for the fight of their lives. A fight they might not survive to see tomorrow ….or even their own time. With a question lingering in their minds: would they be able to free Sky, was Mirloc only bluffing that Sky would not survive if released from his imprisonment, or was he telling the truth and Sky would die the moment he was released.

The young daughter of Eric Myers couldn't know for sure, but her gut feeling told her that Mirloc was telling the truth and what her gut was also telling her was that if they defeated Mirloc, took him down for good, that too would sign Sky's death warrant. Either way he would probably die, she knew that. She knew the chances were slim, that even hope might not be on their side. …But if there was even the slightest of all chances, perhaps maybe they might have a chance to save him, even if all the odds were against them. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest as she watched her brother and Drake battle it out against Mirloc, knowing that this might be their only shot, with Mirloc being distracted… She turned to Sam, knowing what she was about to ask him was the ultimate request and could be a very dangerous one for him, more dangerous than anything she had ever asked him before. "…Sam." She didn't understand his power or what limits he had at his age, but he might be the only shot Sky had. "…What is the extent of your teleportation powers?"

Sam could feel his heart skip a beat. He didn't need to know why she was asking. She wanted to know if there was even a remote possibility if he could somehow get Sky out of Mirloc. "…I don't know," he admitted, even he didn't know just how far he could push his powers. "…The most I've ever done with it beyond teleporting us from place to place, is teleporting a building full of people to a different location." He looked her right in the eyes, wanting to make sure she understood him perfectly clearly, that nothing was left out. "….I don't know if I can even get him out. I've never tried my powers without knowing where I was going." And both Kat and Cruger had told him not to overdo it with his powers; he was still young, still learning how to use them. If he tried something he wasn't ready for ….it could be the last time he ever tried it.

Megan could see the fear in his eyes, knowing he had every right to be afraid. She was scared too. She gripped his shoulder. "….I'll understand if you don't want to do it, Sam, I won't be mad. You don't have to do this."

Sam didn't answer, just kept his eyes on the battle scene, watching as Mirloc continued to kick both Drake and Chase down. He sensed that with every second that passed Mirloc became stronger, as if he were pulling power from deep inside. His mind soon began to drift back to when he had been in trouble and how Sky and the other Rangers had gone out of their way to help him. If it weren't for them, he would be alone with no place to go, or somewhere even worse. _I owe him… _He gulped in heavily as he began to put all his concentration on Mirloc, with his mind centered on Sky, hoping that if he could picture Sky, that somehow, someway he would be able to find him.

"Sam?" Megan's eyes widened as a bight purplish-blue light began to shine around her young friend, something she had never once seen him be able to do.

"….I'm trying…. I think…..I'm almost….there…."

**Back in the Command Center…..**

"What are you trying to say?" asked Eric, who still could not believe the story Cruger just reiterated from having heard it from Slate, a being of a race of people which was known for telling lies and making up stories.

Cruger sighed heavily, knowing Eric had every right to be angry and even have good reason not to want to believe it was true or that there was a possibility. Even he himself didn't want to believe it, while another part of him wanted it to be true, but then that could mean that everything they had done might have been for nothing. "….What I'm saying is the Commander we buried almost fourteen years ago might have been Mimican."

"How dare you!" roared Eric. He was about to go up to Cruger and confront him with intentions of taking a swing at him, only to be held back by Lucas. "How dare you even say those words!" He clenched his fists together, and then raised one up, pointing it straight at the old dog. "You can't believe any bullshit that _thing_ tells you…"

"Why would he lie, Eric?" quested Kat, though she understood his reasons for not wanting to believe any of this. She didn't like the sick feeling in her stomach that she too had missed this, that she hadn't seen it. "….What reasons would he have to lie?"

"You can't tell me that after all these years, that there is even a remote possibility that _he's_ still alive…"

"That who's alive?" asked Hayley, as she and Tommy entered the Command Center, having just arrived at the academy moments ago.


	31. Defeat

He didn't know where he was or even how he had gotten there, it was all a blank. He felt cold and weak, but for some reason it didn't bother him, not even the sharp stabbing pain he felt in his chest and head. Slowly he opened his eyes, but only to be even more confused; everything was a blur and a gusty wind was blowing. "…Wh…Where am I?" asked Sky as he pushed himself up, only to have his legs give way and his body drop to the ground.

On some conscious level that still remained inside of him he was sure some bones had been broken; the combination of the biking accident and his battles with Mirloc had final taken its toll on him, but for some strange and unexplained reason that he couldn't figure out he didn't seem to care anymore. _….Am I dead? _He didn't feel dead, but at the same time he wasn't sure what he should believe. If he was dead, he didn't know where he would be going or even if there was anywhere to go. …After everything that had happened in his life, he wasn't sure what to believe anymore.

"….It's useless, there's no way out," called out a weak, tired voice. "…I've tried."

Sky laid flat on his back and turned his head in the direction he thought the voice was coming from; he put all the concentration that he could in his weakened state into trying to narrow down the stranger's voice. _Perhaps he wasn't dead, after all. _"…Who's there?" He wasn't sure how much time had passed until the stranger slowly crawled his way over to him.

Slowly he opened his eyes, trying to take the stranger's face in… His heart began racing. There, right next to him, was a young man just as beat up as he was, but that wasn't what had gotten his attention.

"….You're….You're alive…." But before he could say anything else, he felt his body tiring as he drifted into unconsciousness…. And just like so many time before the man beside him too, drifted into a deep sleep.

……The battle scene was going hard as Chase and Drake continued to hold up their own, but both were growing tired and knew if something didn't happen quickly they wouldn't be able to last for much longer; Mirloc would eventually overpower them. Mirloc kicked Drake hard in the gut, nearly knocking the wind out of the former Power Ranger.

"Drake, you all right?" asked Chase as he knelt down next to him, making sure to keep one eye locked on Mirloc who was standing just a few inches away, not seeming to care how long this would take, as if he already had proclaimed himself the winner.

Drake held his chest tightly as he took deep breaths. His heart raced rapidly; he knew time was running out. If they didn't get Sky out now they might never be able to and he would be forever trapped inside Mirloc, which was something he could not allow to happen. "…We've got to hold it together!" he exclaimed.

"……There…..I have it…." Sam announced, but then a second later he screamed out in pain, a horrifying sound, that claimed Drake's, Chase's and even Mirloc's attention.

A bright blue ghostly light surrounded the boy, as he levitated above the ground. Megan was frozen, not sure what to do. "….Sam!" she cried, but her young friend never answered.

"…What the hell is he doing?" exclaimed Chase. He had never seen anything like this from Sam before.

Drake's eyes widened as if he understood what was going on, but knew what Sam was attempting was very dangerous given his young age. _Damnit Sam, you're not ready for that….._ But there was nothing he could do now, it was already happening, the only thing he could do was act upon it. He turned to the blue SPD Ranger. "….When I give the word, follow my lead."

All Chase could do was nod his head in agreement, he didn't know what was going on with Sam, but knew he would have to trust Drake on this, whatever it was he would know it. "….You got it!"

"What's going on?" questioned Mirloc, eyeing the young boy. He didn't know who he was, but he was picking up on an extreme power source from him, one unlike he had ever felt before, especially from a child. "….What is that boy doing?" he demanded, glaring at Drake, knowing that the former Ranger and Time Force Officer knew what the child was doing. "Tell me…."

"Things are about to get a lot more interesting," exclaimed Drake as he glanced over his shoulder, watching as the blue ghost light around Sam grew bigger. It was now or never, this might be Sky's only hope, but he knew if this did in fact work, time would be something they wouldn't have. He could feel his heart racing, knowing the next few minutes would mean either life or death. "….NOW!!" he shouted, as he jumped towards Mirloc, Chase following his lead. They tackled Mirloc to the ground as a sort of light force coming from Sam hit Mirloc…..

…..Slowly he started to come to as he felt a bright light shining in his eyes. Sky turned his head and saw what looked like a portal, with a young boy standing near it. "…..Sam?" Sky gasped, unsure if this was really happening or if this was some dream. He was so out of it that he didn't know what to make of it.

"Sky, you have to hurry, I don't know how long I can keep it open…." Sam's voice was soft and weak, as if every ounce of his strength was being pulled away from him to keep the portal open.

Sky tried to push himself up but couldn't. "….I can't…." His body felt heavy and weak. "…Too tired…."

"Please…..you have to try…" Sam called out to him …already feeling himself losing control to keep the portal open. "…We need you, Sky. ….You're a Power Ranger, please don't give up." Sam could feel his body growing weary as he dropped to one knee. "…Please Sky…try again."

Sky's vision was starting to go again, he was feeling the heavy sleep come over him once again, as if the longer he remained here the more he wanted to stay, but he could feel Sam's words trying to penetrate through him. He could hear Sam crying out to him, telling him to hurry. He had to try again, no matter how tired he was, he had to try again. He pushed himself up, kneeling down to the ground, taking a moment to gather his senses, trying to push back the haziness.

"Hurry…." Sam called out again, as the portal slowly began to get smaller.

Sky's eyes locked onto the body lying next to him. "….Just hang on a little longer, Sam." He knelt down next to the body, slowly lifting him up. "…Come on, we're getting out of here." What happened next he wasn't sure, all he could see was himself coming towards Sam and the portal and feeling himself being pulled into a bright bluish light…..

….The bright light that had surrounded Sam diminished and he dropped to the ground. Megan quickly dove down next to him trying to wake him up. "…Sam…. Sam!" she cried out, but still the boy would not answer. "SAM!" she yelled again, hoping to get through to her young friend… And then Sam jerked awake, gasping for air; he was vaguely aware of Megan telling him to take it slow and not to talk. ….A second later a bright blue light shone above Mirloc, Chase, and Drake, and it looked as if a hole in the sky opened and out dropped Sky and another young man. "…Sky!" Megan exclaimed. She looked down at Sam, who was still taking in slow and steady breaths. "You did it Sam, you got him out…." And then that's when she realized there were two bodies, someone else had come out with Sky. "….You got them out!"

Drake and Chase jumped to their feet, while Mirloc appeared weakened from having his prisoners pulled right from him. ….Drake sighed in relief seeing Sky out, but knew his situation was very dire. The young red Ranger was badly hurt and required medical attention, but what got his heart really going was the other SPD uniformed officer lying next to him. He looked as though he'd seen a ghost… "…Wes!"

He could hear Mirloc laughing, as the weakened clone pushed himself up slightly, catching his breath from the extreme drain of energy. "….What, you thought he was dead all this time?" He smirked. "…The plan never was to kill Wesley Collins; he was much more valuable alive, Omni wanted him for a reason."

"…You wanted him to get to Sky," answered Drake.

"No…." Mirloc grinned as he wiped the blood from his lip, as he took deep breaths. "….I wanted him for this…" He turned his head, smirking to himself.

Drake had no clue what he was referring to, he looked in the direction of the purple beast and saw what he had feared since arrived here coming from that direction. "…Oh no!" _Jen….._ "…Jen, stay…" Before he or even Chase could react, Mirloc drew his blaster at them, stunning both of them.

"…What's going on here!?" Jen exclaimed, seeing the horrifying sight of a battle that had taken place, but then her eyes locked onto the young man with blond hair lying on the ground unmoving. "…Wes!" She started to run towards him, totally unaware of Mirloc locking eyes on her and aiming his blaster right at her, setting it to kill….

"…No, Jen…." Drake gasped trying to warn her, but his words were lost, she was far too lost in the fact that Wes was lying on the ground in front of her. This Jen still believed that the Wes of this time was dead and had no clue that the Wes in front of her now was from the future.

"…This time, there is nobody to get in my way," hissed Mirloc. "…It's lights out for you, missy."

Jen was fully alert now, but felt frozen, she couldn't move, she couldn't morph, her heart raced rapidly, as her eyes locked onto the blaster Mirloc was pointing towards her. "….Get down!" She was vaguely aware of a young man shouting at her, as he shoved her to the ground. "…It ends now, Mirloc, once and for all!"

The next few seconds happened so fast, that nothing seemed to register until after the fact. Somehow Sky, even with his intense injuries, had managed to find some strength to get Jen out of the way just before Mirloc blasted three shots towards her. The first two Sky managed to deflect right back at Mirloc, but with the third shot Sky couldn't hold his shield up any longer and it hit him right in the shoulder. He felt a sharp pain and dropped to the ground as he felt a dizzy blackness close around him and it was becoming harder for him to breathe, but not before watching as Mirloc dropped to the ground. Disbelief was in his eyes that he had done it, he finally had gotten the best of him, watching as he took his very last breath and his cold yellow eyes closed for what he hoped would be the very last time…..

"…Oh no!" Chase quickly jumped to his feet and demorphed, knowing that shot Sky had taken could kill his young friend. "Sky…"

"….Sky!" Drake grabbed a hold of his chest and ran towards him, his heart racing. He began slapping him on the face, trying to wake him up. "…Sky, please, you have to wake up…." But the young red Ranger never opened his eyes. Alex's heart pounded against his chest. He quickly reached into his belt harness, his hand shaking, grabbing a small pack and pulled out two shots.

Chase crept around Mirloc, making sure to keep his blaster in hand. He walked around the purple mutant clone before he bent down to feel for a pulse, to make damn sure that there was no chance that Mirloc was still alive. When he was hundred percent sure they wouldn't be having any more trouble from Mirloc he walked up behind Drake, watching he prepared two injections. "…What are you doing?"

"…This will keep them stable, but we need to get them back _now_ if they're going to stand a chance." He knew the injuries were serious, blood was all over both of their bodies and he wasn't sure what kind of condition Wes would be in or what side effects if any he could have from being imprisoned in Mirloc for so long.

"….Alex?" Jen pulled herself away from the unmoving Wes and looked at the older man who was kneeling down next to the young man who had protected her. She couldn't be sure …he looked like Alex, but a much older version of the Alex she knew…

It had been a good many years since he had laid his eyes on her, but there was no way he could deny who he was. They had known each other for a good many years. She knew his face, his voice and even though he was over a decade older than the Alex she knew, she knew it was him. "…I don't have much time to explain, Jen, but if I don't get them back to the future, they'll both die."

"….The future?" her eyes widened as she looked over at Wes, not sure what that could possibly mean. "…Are you saying that Wes ….is alive?"

He didn't answer her right away, as he injected both Sky and Wes with the medicine, knowing it would only give them a little bit of time to keep them stable until he was able to get them back to their time. "…Yes. …You'll find out that he's alive, a few days from now."

"…How far in time are you from?" she asked, not understanding how Wes looked so young, while Alex looked much older. It didn't make sense…. There were so many questions flowing around in her mind.

"…..Jen, you know I can't tell you that. Too much depends on it. I need to get Sky and Wes back, or we're going to lose them both." He hated to keep things from her, not being able to tell her, but he knew if she knew too much it could change everything…. And even though there were things he would love to change, the risk of changing too much was too high.

"…Who is he?" she asked, looking down at the young man who had saved her life. If nothing else, she wanted to know who the handsome young man was, to know who would risk his own life to save hers.

"….Jen, I can't….."

"….He's your…." Megan started, as she and Sam slowly made their way over to the group, only to be cut off by Drake.

"Megan, don't," he firmly announced as he gave her a hard stern look. "…She can't know…"

"….Alex please, who is he, what's going on here?" She looked her old friend in the eyes, wanting answers from him. "…I know they're with SPD, I recognize the uniforms and logos…" She wasn't stupid or blind, and though she understood the whole reasoning of needing to keep information from her to protect the timeline, deep down she felt there was a reason why this young man had saved her and she wanted to know, even if she would forget it, she wanted to know.

Against his better judgment, Alex knew she had a right to know, even if she wouldn't remember this moment or what had happened here, she deserved to know. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat as he looked her in the eyes. "…His name is Sky, and he's your son, Jen, ….yours and Wes's."

Jen couldn't believe it; her eyes widened. That was the farthest thing from her mind, the last thing she thought she would hear coming from Alex's mouth. "…My son? Wes and I are going to have a son…." She just watched as he answered in a nod. And then an even bigger question came to her mind. "….Why didn't I come with you guys?" She knew that if her son and Wes were in trouble she would have come …._she knew that. _So why wasn't she here?

He felt a stabbing pain in his heart, the question he didn't want to answer, the question he had dreaded she would ask him, had been asked. How could he tell her that her time with Sky would be short and that her time with Wes would be even less. How could he tell her that this moment right here and now, was the only time and would be the only time the three were ever together in one place? …But he wouldn't have to answer that question as Jen reached out and gripped his hand, as if she understood.

"….You don't have to answer that." She smiled faintly. "….I know you did everything you could." She had tears in her eyes as she stared down at her young son and the man she would always love, knowing time was something they both didn't have. "…Get them home safely." All that mattered now was their survival.

"….You have my word." He turned to Chase, holding out his hand, wanting the memory wiper and knowing that in order for the future to stay intact this needed to be done.

Drake turned to Sam, who was standing close to Megan, looking a little better then he had before. "…Sam, you think you can get us back to the time ship?"

"Yes. …That's a whole lot easier than creating portals through other dimensions."

"Good. Because the moment I pull this trigger, we need to be gone." Sam nodded his head as Drake turned back to Jen, knowing that this was hard for her, but in a short moment it wouldn't matter anymore because she wouldn't ever remember it happening. "….I'm sorry, Jen."

"I know….. And I forgive you."

* * *

It had been just a couple of hours since Cliff had departed. Mike hoped that one day he would return, but deep down he knew that wouldn't happen. Too much had happened between them and it probably would be for the best. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew that Cliff had made the right decision by leaving. He knew the young man had a long road ahead of him; he needed to find peace with what had happened, something that might take years to happen.

He just stood at the door for a moment, watching Cassie rest in her bed peacefully. Kendrix had told him a few minutes ago that she was going to be fine, with some physical theory, but they all knew it was going to take more than that before the former pink Ranger's life was back to normal.

"…Hey." He heard her call out to him. Her eyes fluttered open, her voice was a bit soft, but loud enough for him to hear.

"Hey…." He smiled as he walked over to her and sat down next to her. "….How you feeling?"

"….Tired. Hungry…. Weak." She smiled. "….I guess that's to be expected for someone who's come out of a coma."

"….Yeah. What do you remember?"

She shook her head; everything about that day was still hazy and unclear in her mind. "…I don't know. It's all a blur…." She looked Mike in the eyes, as if she wanted something from him. "…What happened, Mike? What happened to Sirius? ….To my team, Ashley, Andros, Carlos, and T.J.?" She could feel tears collecting in her eyes, as if she feared she already knew. "….My mother wouldn't tell me."

Mike felt a pain in his stomach, much like he had felt the day his daughter had died in battle. "….I'm sorry, Cassie, but that day, the day you were hurt, was the day Sirius fell."

"….They didn't make it, did they?"

"No…." He shook his head and bit his lip. "…Only Commander Cruger, his wife, you, and Mora survived,"

Somehow she knew that her friends were dead, it was just a feeling she had inside, something telling her they were gone, but she needed to hear it. "…Mora…" She looked Mike right in the eyes. "…You said Mora was alive, right, Andros and Ashley's Mora?"

"Yes." He nodded his head. "…She's living with Andros's parents." There was no reason right now to tell her about Mora's situation, that would come with time, as would the death of Zhane and Karone. ….And there would be the death of his daughter, who Cassie had known, but he would never reveal the name of her killer. That would just be too much.

"I guess I have a lot of catching up to do…."

"That will come with time, and the gang and I are all here for you and your parents…" He gripped Cassie's hand. "…You're going to be okay, Cassie. I promise you…"

* * *

Time seemed to stand still as two bodies were rushed into the academy, being rushed to separate rooms. Everyone's faces were grim, knowing that two lives were at stake and perhaps a lot more. No one was allowed to go beyond the two doors, as they all watched as the doctors disappeared with Sky and Wes, hoping that it wasn't too late.

Z and Bridge stuck close to Syd, who had not said one word since seeing Sky in the state he was. It didn't even look like him, that's how bad he looked. The once strong and well built man was one inch away from life or death.

Megan had both of her parents' arms wrapped around her and she knew if the situation wasn't what it was, she would be getting a long speech from them about the stupid stunt she had pulled …That would come later, once all of this had blown over. She would be getting her punishment, but for now, the only punishment she had was the one they would all have to share while they waited for the fates of their fallen friends.

Chase and Tommy shared a few words, just gathering a little about what had happened, but didn't get too deep into detail. Everyone was still shaken up at the discovery of Wes, and though he was in bad shape he was alive, whether he would stay that way, no one knew.

Drake walked off to the side, staring out of the windows of the SPD academy, needing to have a moment alone with everything that had happened. He still couldn't believe that after all this time, after all these years; Wes had been trapped inside Mirloc. How could he have not known that? How could he have been so blind?

"…There was no way you could have known, Alex," announced Lucas, as he walked up behind his old friend. He knew Alex all too well and knew the former top ranked Time Force Officer was kicking and cursing himself for not knowing about Wes. "….Not even Time Force knew."

"….We should have known," he answered, but continued to look out the window watching as the rain fell. "We should have known; the information was always there, the Mimican's were an extinct race in our time and we knew that Omni had the power to absorb living beings, so it would make sense that Mirloc would be able to do the same …"

Lucas reached out and gripped his friend's shoulder. "…Blaming yourself for what happened to Wes will help nobody." He forced Drake to look at him. He needed to get through to him; whether Drake wanted to hear it or not, he needed to hear it. "It happened, Alex, it's done and over with. And there's not a damn thing anyone can do to change that, not me, not you, nobody." He licked his lips. "….No matter how much we wish we could."

"…You're right, there isn't a damn thing we can do!" He looked Lucas hard in the eyes. "…And because of that, we could lose both of them!"

**A couple days later…..**

Eric sat close by Sky's side; he hadn't left since he had yelled at Drake, telling him that this was his fault. …Which wasn't true, he knew Drake wasn't to blame. He was just scared and tired, with everything that had happened, and then on top of it all his daughter had been smack right in the middle, thankfully she had been unharmed.

"…Ah, come on, kid." He gripped Sky's bruised and scratched hand in his own. "…I know you're a lot tougher than this." But it had been close to four days and still no change had happened, Sky was still the same as he had been after his surgeries. And with every day that passed Eric was slowly starting to give up on the hope that Sky would ever wake up. Eventually they might have to face the idea that he wouldn't wake up.

"Hey…." Hayley walked in carrying a cup of coffee and sat down next to him. She glanced at the monitors briefly. Seeing no changes, she sighed heavily, knowing the longer Sky remained like this the harder it would be to get him out of it. "….Eric, you haven't left this room in three days, you need to eat something and get some decent sleep. This isn't healthy." But he never answered her, he hadn't even acknowledged that she had sat down next to him, he kept his eyes still on Sky, hoping against hope that he would open his eyes. "…You can't keep doing this, sitting here won't help Sky."

"…Nothing I do will help him. So what difference will it make?" he answered her.

"What happens next is up to Sky now."

And that was his fear, that there wasn't a thing anyone could do, that it all lay on Sky now. It would be his choice whether to stay or go. "….He has been so angry for so long…"

Hayley gripped her husband's shoulder, knowing this was hard for him. She knew how important Sky was to him. How important he was to everyone, she too didn't want to lose Sky, but she had three children she needed to be concerned about and she couldn't afford to be worried about her husband who could be making himself sick by sitting by Sky's bedside for days in and days out. She couldn't be worried about him too. "….Everyone is starting to worry about you, Eric," she exclaimed. "….You haven't even gone to see him yet?"

"….I can't." He bowed his head down. "…I can't."

"Is that why you won't leave this room, because sooner or later you're going to have to face the fact that Wes is lying just a few rooms down?"

He didn't answer her question, just kept his eyes locked onto Sky, just wanting to forget about everything else.

"Eric…"

"Hayley, don't!" he announced. "…I made my peace with Wes's death a long time ago. I won't go through it again…" He turned to her. Wes too was in a coma, as his son was, and it was unclear if he would survive. The only changes that had happened in the last few days with Wes were that his body was starting to catch up to his actual age. "….I can't. I won't watch both of them die…"

Ever so carefully she wrapped an arm around him, knowing this was hard for him, for all of them. It had come to a shock to all of them that Wes had been alive all this time, but now they could still lose him, along with someone else very dear to them. "…It's okay." She leaned her head onto his shoulder. "…You don't have to." She reached down and tightly gripped her hand on top of Eric's, which was on top of Sky's. All she could do was be there for him and hope that would be enough for now.


	32. It's all in The Mind

"….Hey," Megan announced as she slowly walked into the room where her father had been sitting with Sky. She hadn't seen much of him, had been staying at the apartment with her mother, brothers, sister and Jenny, while Tommy, Drake and Lucas had been staying at the academy. "Mom said I'd find you here…." Although she really hadn't needed her mother to tell her where he had been, she had known where he had been the last two days, but had been avoiding him. Given everything that had happened and on top of having just about everyone give her a hard time about the stunt she and Sam had pulled, she really wasn't ready for her father to lay into her about it too. But now, seeing him like this, she would give anything for him to just yell at her. "…Still no change?"

Eric knew Hayley had sent Megan to him for a reason. She wanted him to get out of this room and move around, instead of being a permanent statue. "…No." He sighed heavily as he turned around to face her. "How are Wesley and Erin?"

"They're good. ….Keep on asking when you're going to come and have dinner with us."

He gave a small nod and a faint smile, as if his mind was somewhere else. "Seen Sam?"

"….Just a little while ago, Kat wants him to rest for a few more days." Everyone knew Sam had taken a great risk doing what he had done, getting both Sky and Wes out of there, but the question still remained -- had it been worth it?

"That's probably best…"

"I shouldn't have asked him to do it…." The past couple of days had been hard on her. Though she was holding it together and putting up a good front, the truth was she was a wreck. She knew she had come very close to losing her friend …Sam wasn't ready, he wasn't strong enough to handle what he did in getting Sky and Wes out of there. If anything had happened to Sam, she knew she'd never have forgiven herself for it.

Finally sensing a good reason to get out of the chair he had spent days in, Eric got up and went to his daughter, wrapping his arms around her as tightly as he could. It was then he realized just how close he had come to losing her. All this time he had been so worked up over losing Sky that he had nearly forgotten about his own daughter. Mirloc could have just as easily gotten to her.

….Elsewhere in the academy Kat was doing a scan of Mirloc's body, trying to learn as much about him as she could before Captain Lucas Kendall would return to his time taking the body with him. Everyone was very concerned that there could have been side effects on both Wes and Sky from having been trapped inside Mirloc. The primary concern was with Wes, as he had been trapped in there the longest. What kind of side effects could he have if he were to wake up?

"….Well?" asked Commander Cruger, watching as Kat stepped to the side, taking off her gloves before she headed over to him, where he stood by Lucas and Drake. "Were you able to find any answers in his DNA?"

"…I was." She turned to Lucas and Drake. what you were able to tell me with what your Time Force knew of Omni's abilities, along with what Slate was able to provide," she licked her lips, "…I've come to the conclusion that Mirloc absorbed the Mimicans, may have even gotten some sort of strength and power from them." She couldn't be sure exactly, but she knew she couldn't be too far off from the truth. "…So when he wanted us all to believe that Commander Collins was dead, he traded the Mimican with Wes. Somehow he knew that during the switch the two bodies would meet, and for that split second of time the Mimican would be able to get some of Wes's DNA. Then when Mirloc took his body out, we would all believe it was Wes's." When she thought about it, it was pretty clever of Mirloc. It said everything about how he was crafty and witty, a monster that would lead everyone to believe that someone they had all cared about was dead.

"…Wouldn't it have become known that it wasn't Wes's?" asked Cruger. He was no doctor, but he would have thought there must have been a way to know. "…Drake said the moment he shot his blaster at Sky's double, it shuddered and returned to being Mimican." In all truth he just wanted answers, wanted to know if all of this could have been avoided, even if it made things all the worse and heartbreaking, he wanted to know.

"The only conclusion I can come to is that it must have something to do with the power of the blaster ray. When I ran a scan all those years ago, I didn't pick up anything abnormal in it." Given everything that had happened, there would always be unanswered questions, things that no one would ever know.

"Were you able to find anything that may help them?" asked Cruger.

"No…" She shook her head. "…Unfortunately, I think the only side effect was the no aging while trapped inside Mirloc, but as we know Wes is now the age he's supposed to be." She sighed heavily; she was hoping to find something, anything that would help. "…Both of their injuries are very serious, and that bomb that Mirloc threw at them was a bomb and not just what allowed him to absorb them."

"…I may know of a way to help Sky." Lucas stepped forward; he bit his lip as he paused for a moment. "….But I will need the cooperation of one of your cadets."

"Lucas, it's too risky…." Drake announced, knowing very well what his friend was referring to, it was something that had crossed his mind a couple of times, but with everything…. He didn't want any more death on his hands.

"It may be his only chance, Alex…" Lucas didn't like it any more than he did, there was no telling what could happen, but they had to at least try.

* * *

Chase strolled alone in the park; the past two days had been pretty hectic and he just needed to go out and get away from everything, especially _today_. The sun was shining, a cool warm breeze blew against him. If it were any other day than today, it would be a good day, but given everything that had happened the past couple of days and the last several months, today didn't feel like a good day. Both Sky's and Wes's lives remained uncertain, he hadn't spent much time with the team, only seen them for a few minutes, but he could tell they were struggling, especially Sydney who had yet to go to see Sky.

He sighed heavily as he sat down on one of the park benches, watching as a young couple passed by him. He smiled faintly, seeing they were very much in love, much like he had once been… now that seemed almost a lifetime ago. …If she were still alive they would have been getting married today. He hadn't been able to tell anyone that here. What point would there be in telling them that today was supposed to be the day he was going to marry his dead girlfriend, the love of his life. He had however talked with Mike Corbett for the first time since he had arrived on Earth; it had been a good long talk, one they both needed to have a long time ago.

"…You have some nerve to show up here, especially _today_," exclaimed Chase, as he felt a shadow crept up behind him, knowing all too well who it belonged to.

"I know. You have every right to want to kill me."

"You're right." He turned his head, watching as Cliff walked around the bench and sat down next to him. "I do! I thought of nothing more, for months, than of how I would kill you, make you pay for what you did…." He struggled to hold it together, not wanting to draw attention. "…And I don't give a shit about what happened to you and what reason you may have for why you did it, because it still happened…"

"…You're right, what happened to me and the others was no excuse for what we did, it doesn't change things or make it any easier." He sighed heavily as he looked his former comrade in the eyes. "…We forgot who we were." That had been what caused the change in all of them; that was the breaking point, when they all forgot where they had come from. When they began to believe the lies that Gruumm fed them, when they feared for their own lives, when the darkness finally took over and their innocence had been stripped from them.

And perhaps for the first time ever, Chase finally saw with his own eyes the hell that Cliff and the others probably had been through, taken as children and raised in a darkish hell where they saw with their own eyes their nightmares come to life. It was enough to turn anyone into a heartless killer, enough to change someone. Though it would always be hard to forgive and forget that the man before him had killed the woman he loved more than life itself, he could see that a day had not gone by that Cliff had forgotten that, which made it all the harder to want to hate him. He sighed heavily. "…I want to hate you, I'd really like to do what you did to her." He licked his lips. "….But I can't…" He looked him in the eyes. "…She wouldn't want me to." He knew deep down in the soul of his heart that Callie would not want him to spend the rest of his life hating Cliff for what he had done, she had always been about forgiveness, since the day he had met her, that's how she was …in truth it had been what had attracted him to her.

He ran his hand over the back of his head. The past few weeks had been proof enough of just what having revenge in your heart can do to someone. He had watched as Sky broke apart, when all he cared about was getting his revenge and he didn't care what happened or who he hurt in the process. "…I've seen what revenge can do to someone." He licked his lips. "…I don't want that to happen to me."

"…She'd be happy to hear you say that."

Chase watched as Cliff stood up, he could tell by the look in his eyes that this would be the last time he would see him. Cliff had only come to him for one reason and that was closure, to put an end to things between them, for them to get everything out in the open. "…You're not planning on coming back here, are you?"

"There's nothing here for me."

"…Not even Z? I've heard the way she talks about you."

"Maybe if things had been different, but I could never be part of her world."

"…What will you do?"

"Go where I'm needed…." He backed away and with his final words. "…Goodbye, Chase, I hope that one day you find happiness," and before Chase could answer back, Cliff disappeared, as quickly as he had come.

* * *

In the Common Room sat Syd, Z and Bridge. Ever since Drake and the others had arrived back with Sky this is what the three had been doing, keeping low and to themselves. Not a whole lot of action had been going on; B squad had been taking care of their rounds and would for at least another week until things had settled down.

"…Cadet Carson, could I see you for a moment?" announced Commander Cruger. "…Captain Kendall is in need of your assistance."

"Sure," answered Bridge. He briefly glanced at the girls before following Commander Cruger out of the room.

Once Bridge was gone, Z knew it was now or never, Syd had barely spoken and what worried her even more was that she hadn't gone to see Sky yet. She knew a lot had happened between them, but she never thought it would come to this, they could lose Sky and she thought that Syd would at least want to go see him while he was still alive, so she could at least say goodbye. "…You haven't said anything in the last two days."

"There's nothing to say."

"….Syd… I know he hurt you, but if Sky dies and you don't go see him… I know you." She gripped her friend's shoulder. "…You'll never forgive yourself."

'"I'm just so angry at him…" Syd bowed her head down. She knew there was a good chance that Sky might never come out of this, that they might have to come to the decision to let him go, but she couldn't stop being angry at him for what he had done, for the way he had treated her and everything else on top of it. She felt tears roll down her cheeks, knowing this wasn't the kind of person she normally was, but right now she was just so confused. …But the only thing she knew for sure -- she turned to Z. "…You were right, you know."

"…Syd, don't say that. I say a lot of things."

"Yeah." She smiled faintly, as she let out a sigh. "…But this time you're right."

Not knowing what to say next, Z put her arm around her friend, just letting her know that she was there for her as they went through this troubling time, not knowing whether their friend, teammate, and leader would live to see another day.

* * *

...Back in Sky's room, Lucas, Bridge and Drake stood around him, Megan had been able to convince her father to go outside with her to get some fresh air, so it was just the three of them and Sky left in the room. Lucas and Drake had instructed Commander Cruger to stand outside the room to prevent anyone from entering, as this would require time and patience.

"…I've never been able to do that before," asked Bridge, having just heard what Lucas wanted him to attempt. "Are you sure? …I've only been able to see into the past, future, and pick up on people's auras, their inner feelings, before."

"Trust me when I say this, that your power has the capability of being able to get inside people consciousness. Right now Sky's in a coma and his condition isn't getting any better." He knew this was a lot to ask of Bridge, but it was the only thing they could do. He couldn't interfere in any other way, as much as he would like to give Sky some kind of medicine from the future, he couldn't. "…You may be his only shot, Bridge."

"Lucas, are you sure about this?" questioned Drake, eyeing his old friend. "…Look what happened to Sam when he tried to go to the full extent of his powers before he was ready." He wasn't about to let anyone else get hurt who didn't have to. As much as he would like Sky to come out of this, he didn't want it to come at a cost. Sam could have very easily died doing what he had done and the same thing could happen to Bridge, if they weren't careful.

"Bridge is a lot older then Sam. His mind and body are more prepared for what he needs to do." But he too had to admit that Drake did make a good point, though Bridge was older, even he might not be ready for this. "….But Alex is right in being concerned about what could happen."

"…If I do this, can you give me your word that it will work, that Sky will come out of this?"

Lucas knew the chances were slim and probably against them, as this would be the first time Bridge would be attempting something like this. He wasn't even sure it could work. It was just based on his own records of what Bridge's abilities were capable of. "…I can't make any promises. I don't know what will happen. The only thing I do know is that as long as you have a strong connection with Sky, you should be able to get through to him. The two of you were roommates for a while, almost like brothers, right?"

Bridge nodded his head, he did think of Sky as his older brother and he would do whatever he could to help him. He felt Drake grip his shoulder. "..Bridge, if you don't want to do this, it's okay. No one would blame you."

"No." He turned to face Drake. "…Sky's my friend, my leader… I'll do whatever I can, even if it's a small chance that it will help him. He's saved my life a number of times." He had always been known as the rookie Ranger on the team. Both Sky and Chase were great fighters, Z had her wits and Syd with her charm, while he always had an unusual way about things. Now perhaps that could all change; maybe his gift, his ability, would be able to help Sky. He turned to face Lucas. "…Tell me what I have to do."

It felt nice to get outside, feel the warm sun against his face. He and Megan had decided to take a walk around the academy's campus, watching as some of the cadets worked out in the training section, while others were just enjoying a stroll like they were. He had forgotten how nice the layout of the building and the outside features were, how it was so open and how, back when he still worked here, at night he would come out for a few minutes to stare out at the star-covered sky. It was what almost made it worth coming here….

"…You really like it here, don't you?" He asked as he leaned across the stone fence, watching the cadets do their training.

"Yeah. It's great here," Megan answered, as she leaned next to her father. "…And I'm not just saying that because of all the cute guys here."

That got a smile on his face; as much as he didn't want to admit it Megan was growing up. In a couple of years she'd be driving, a couple more after that she'd be graduating from the academy's high school program and if fate would have its way she would remain at the academy as a cadet to continue her training. Had someone asked him three years ago if he would have allowed Megan to come here, the answer probably would have been no. This had not been the life he would have wanted for his daughter or any of this children, but he had seen it in _her_ eyes, when she came from the future to help them. She had that drive, the same determination he had back in his glory days, it was the same look her saw in her today. She wanted this more than anything and he knew, just like with Sky, there wasn't a thing in the world he could do to stop her.

"…You're worried, aren't you?" she asked. She knew her dad would never be one to really admit openly to her that he ever worried about things. It was just the way he was, he always had to be that tough guy everyone was afraid to mess with.

After today he had every reason to worry, because he knew if she continued to remain here long after she finished with school, that she would be finding herself in more danger, just as he had. And that scared the hell out of him. "…After a few days ago." He licked his lips. "Yeah. …You're still my little girl, Megan, and I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."

"I'll always be your little girl, Dad, nothing will ever change that." She put her arm around him, knowing this was hard on him; she was after all his first born. "….You know Mom and Uncle Tommy say I'm a lot like you."

"…And that scares the hell out of me." Because he knew how he was back as a teenager: he could be careless, reckless, always was trying to prove himself, even to the very people he didn't need to. "Back when I was your age, I was always getting myself in all sorts of trouble at school. Before I dropped out I came close to getting expelled…"

"What stopped it?"

He smiled faintly; it was hard looking back on those days, because of the way he had treated the one person who had always treated him with the utmost respect. "…A good friend always bailed me out, don't know why ….I never deserved it for the way I treated him."

"Uncle Wes…" She knew he was the only friend her father ever had back in school, even though back then the two hadn't really been friends, more of a one-sided friendship.

"Yeah. He was a good friend, always tried to keep me out of trouble…" But he had even done more than that: when Eric wasn't invited to the big time popular parties, Wes had always bailed on them to hang out with him. He even recalled a few times the two actually did have some fun.

"Kind of like how Sam does with me, huh…."

"Yeah." He smiled and rubbed the back of her hair, as he placed a light kiss on top of her head. "…Only you treat Sam a lot better than I treated Wes in school."

"Are you going to go see Uncle Wes?" She understood that it was hard for her father after all these years believing his friend had been dead, and now to come to find out that wasn't so, but no one knew whether or not he would live. Which was one of the reasons why Wes was being kept in a very secure room, only a select few knew who the man was in the room where cadets were standing watch. Commander Cruger was doing all he could to see to it that it didn't get out to the public, they themselves were still coming to grips with it.

Eric didn't answer. It wasn't that he didn't care, because he did. Back when it first happened, when Hayley had told him Mirloc had killed Wes, he would have done anything to get his friend back, even gone to the ends of the Earth. …But that was years ago, he had made his peace, as tough and stubborn as he was, he knew he couldn't go through losing Wes all over again. But he knew if the roles were reversed and it had been him, …Wes would have gone to see him, even if he knew that he would never come out of it.

"…Okay Bridge, you need to put all your focus on Sky," stated Lucas, as both he an Drake stood behind the young eighteen-year-old, knowing that if something would go wrong it would be best for them to be behind him so they could catch him. "And concentrate hard, you're going to have to dig deep into his mind to pull him out. ….But you have to be careful, the deeper you go in, the harder it will be for you to get out."

Drake gripped the young man's shoulder. "…Now would be the time to say you want to back out, because once we start this, Bridge, there'll be no going back." It would be nearly impossible, once Bridge was in, for them to help him out; once the young green Ranger was in, he was alone. It would be too dangerous for them to try to wake Bridge up, even moving him could come at a risk.

"…I understand the risks, but this is something I have to do." Bridge turned to face them, knowing that if this didn't work, he might never see either one of them again, but seeing them again wasn't really what bothered him. What did bother him was that if he didn't come back from this he might never see his parents, Z, Syd, or even Sophie, who he cared for very deeply, again. They were the people in his life who mattered to him, just as Sky mattered to him, which was why he was doing this. "…Is there anything else I should know?" He eyed Drake. "…Anything else you want me to do?" He had been picking up certain signals coming from Drake's aura, hidden deep in his mind.

"I couldn't ask you to do that, Bridge. What you're doing is dangerous enough…" He wasn't surprised that the green Ranger had picked up on what he was thinking, it had been something he'd been wondering for months now, as if it would help Sky's problems.

"….But you think it could help Sky, make him understand."

"I don't know if it would help or make things worse." He licked his lips. "…I blocked those memories a long time ago for a reason; back then I thought I was doing the right thing." He felt Lucas grip his shoulder. "…You do what you can, Bridge, just bring him back home to us, that's all that matters."

"….I will," Bridge announced. He was going to do whatever he could to bring Sky back to them. The green Ranger took a deep breath as he faced his young leader. He closed his eyes tightly as he waved his hand a few times, trying to reach out for a connection. _Hold on a little longer, Sky, I'm coming….._

….A gust of wind moved past him. Bridge shivered slightly as he opened his eyes. At first he had no clue where he was or how he had gotten there, but as he let everything settle in and came to grips with his surrounding he knew where he was and how he had gotten there. He was in Sky's mind …or at least on some level of what remained of Sky's consciousness. It wasn't exactly what he had been expecting, but then again he wasn't sure what to expect.

It was ghost-like, cold, dark, with only a little light flowing through. He heard voices but couldn't make out what they were saying, although he was sure the voices probably belonged to Lucas and Drake. He knew if he put all his thoughts into it he could hear them better, but thought better of it. His energy would be better spent finding Sky and helping him get back to them.

"…Sky," he called out, as he walked down what looked like hallways, but with no idea where they led or even if he was going the right way. "….Sky, if you can hear me, please respond. It's Bridge, I've come to help."

But still no answer came. Bridge rubbed his shoulders, trying to warm himself up, as he could see his own breath. His heart seemed to race as something told him something was very wrong here. Something was not right. Not right at all. He didn't know what it was, all he knew was he had to find Sky and get him out of here fast. "…Sky!" he shouted again, more in a panic this time, as he turned down the next hall and ran smack into something …Or someone. "…Sky. It's you." Bridge stepped back a few feet, rubbing his head.

"…What are you doing here!" Sky hissed, as he rubbed his head where it had hit Bridge.

The green Ranger felt his heart racing, having figured out why his senses were telling him something was wrong. His heart began to race rapidly, as he looked back at his friend and leader ….or at least what looked like him. "…You're not Sky."

He laughed as he cocked his neck and his eyes glowed a gleaming purple. "…You are a smart one, aren't you?" he smirked, as he began walking circles around the green Ranger. "…You have magnificent powers, Bridge, you could even be more powerful than me, one day…"

Bridge watched whatever had implanted itself in Sky's mind cautiously, knowing whoever it was wasn't planning on doing anything to help Sky. "…Who are you?"

"…Come now." He crossed his arms against his chest as he stopped moving around and faced the green Ranger. "You know who I am. ….You've felt me before."

"…Th-that's impossible, you were destroyed!" He could feeling his heart racing faster and faster, which was something he knew wasn't good for it to be doing, given the kind of situation he was in. "…I watched you."

"…Yes. Yes I know." He laughed. "….Everyone thought I was dead. Including the puke-like clone of mine, Mirloc."

"…Omni." Bridge knew things weren't good. Omni was one being you didn't want to mess with; he was more powerful than any one person in the universe. "…But how? Mirloc…."

"….Mirloc was foolish, he thought he had gotten me destroyed, but he was wrong," he exclaimed. "…I've got power you've only dreamed of! As the explosion was going off, I put all my concentration in locating Mirloc, and implanted myself deep in his subconscious mind. He had no idea that I was there and before your leader killed him, I got out of Mirloc's lifeless body and went for your precious leaders."

"…That's why Sky hasn't woken up, you're preventing him."

"Right again." He smirked. "…I must say, if I hadn't already zeroed in on Sky Tate, you definitely would be my second choice."

Bridge stepped back a few feet, wanting to put some distance between them. With his hands behind his back Bridge felt a doorknob, but didn't open it. He watched as Omni stepped towards him, his eyes glowing a dark purple.

"…Do I frighten you, green Ranger?"

"…No." Bridge gulped in. He couldn't be sure, but his instincts were telling him that he was right. "…Because I don't think you have as much power as you think you do." Gathering up his courage, he stood tall. "…I think you lost some of it during the battle."

"Do you!" he hissed.

"I do!" announced Bridge, looking Omni in the eyes. "…Otherwise you would have waked up out of the coma, taken over Sky's body, made all of SPD believe you were him, and when we weren't looking you would take over and destroy everything in sight." He watched as anger and fury start to burn in his possessed friend's eyes. "…But you can't do that, because Sky still has some control, some hold on you, stopping you."

"Not for long." He cracked his knuckles in his hands. "…He is growing weak, he has nothing to live for, nothing to hold on to. It's over for him, I've won…"

"…Then you must not know him that well, because the Sky I know has everything to live for." Bridge crept his hand around the knob behind him. "…And once I open this door, he'll have something to hold on to. The truth! What he once lost, will be found." Bridge opened the door and a gust blew right in, making the wind stronger. "…Fight him, Sky. I know you're stronger than he is… You can beat him. You can do it…"

"What are you trying to pull?" exclaimed Omni. "…You think this windstorm will stop me from winning?"

"It's not a storm," announced Bridge. "…It's the memories Sky had blocked in his mind, the memories that have been holding him back."

"You really think that…..ahhh!" Omni grabbed a hold of his head, feeling a strong pain. "…What's wrong? I'm losing control."

"…Sky's remembering, that's what's wrong with you. You're losing the only hold you had on him." Bridge looked up at the wind blowing around above him and began to see flashes of Sky's memories unfold above him….. "And once that happens, it'll be the end."

"No!" exclaimed Omni, as he struggled to keep his hold on Sky together. "…I will not be beaten by worthless pathetic humans!"

Bridge could see the struggle going on. He knew that his friend was struggling to keep it together, as if a part of him was refusing the memories, like he didn't want to accept them, as if they were his greatest fear. "…Sky, don't fight the memories, you have to remember. Don't let him win!" Bridge knew he had to get through to him, even if that meant going further in than he already was. It was a risk he was going to have to take. "…The team needs you, Sky, you are not alone…."

_"…..You won't be alone, honey, I promise you." _

Bridge felt himself drawn into the woman's voice, the memory, that Sky had been afraid to remember. The green Ranger no longer found himself in the windy hall, but in a bedroom where a young woman with long brown hair lay in bed under the covers. A little boy sat very close to her while a man he recognized as Drake stood at her bedside, one hand on the boy and the other on her. It was then he realized the boy was Sky at five years old.

_"…You won't be alone, honey, I promise you." The woman, Sky's mother Jen, spoke softly to him as she stroked his cheek. "…Alex is going to go with you."_

_The young boy appeared distraught and confused; Bridge could tell the boy knew his mother wasn't going to live, as he watched this untold story fall upon him. "….Why do you keep calling Dad that?"_

_Jen glanced up at Alex sadly, knowing now was the time to tell her young son the truth. A truth that scared her more than anything, because she knew once she said it she wouldn't be able to take it back. She ran her hand through her son's hair. "…Sky sweetie, there's something your father and I have to tell you."_

_"….What?" he asked softly._

_This was hard. He was so young, she knew he would have questions, questions she knew she might never be able to answer. "….Alex, your father, he's…..he's not your real father." She nearly had tears in her eyes, because she knew Sky thought the world of Alex …and that Alex thought the world of him. _

_"What do you mean?" Sky looked from his mother to the man he had called his dad since the day he could talk. "…I don't understand."_

_Alex bent down and picked him up. "…What your mother is trying to say, Sky, is…." This was hard for him, even though he always knew that this day would come, because he did think of the boy in his arms as his own son, even if he really wasn't. "…Your real dad's name is Wes, he's a Power Ranger just like us and he loved your mother very much."_

_"…Where is he; why haven't I've seen him before?"_

_Alex looked to Jen, knowing how difficult this was for her. If it could have been avoided he would have done everything in his power to make things easier on her. "…He lives very far away."_

_"Does he know about me?"_

_"….No honey, he doesn't know…" answered Jen sadly._

_"What if he doesn't like me?" Sky reached out to his mother. "…..What if I don't like it there…."_

_Jen wrapped her arms around her son, holding him close to her. "…He's going to love you." She nuzzled her head against his. "….Just know that no matter what happens, we'll always love you."_

_Bridge felt a few tears trickle down his cheek, having a better understanding of just who Schuyler Tate really was. _

_"….Bridge," he heard Sky call out to him. "…It's okay, you can go now. I'll catch up."_

_Bridge started to protest against it, as if afraid that Sky really wouldn't come back, but he already felt Sky start to pull away from him, pushing him back from where he came….._

"….Bridge!" both Drake and Lucas shouted as they kept the young green Ranger from falling backwards. …A few moments of Bridge lying in their arms passed by until the green Ranger let out a gasp, taking in a deep breath.

"…Easy Bridge, you've just been through a very stressful experience," announced Lucas, wanting the young man to take things slowly.

"…You don't know the half of it." Bridge rubbed his head, feeling like he had an enormous headache, as the two older men helped him to his feet.

"…Did you see Sky?" asked Drake.

"That wasn't all I saw." He turned to face them. "….Omni was there too."

"What!" both of them exclaimed, feeling their hearts race, knowing that was not a good thing.

"…But Sky pushed me back and I lost my hold."

"Then it's up to him. If Sky can prevent Omni from taking over, he can kill any existence that still remains of him," announced Lucas, knowing that if they tried to do anything it could only make matters worse.

"But..." started Bridge. Though he felt like crap, with his heading spinning and throbbing, he wanted to go back in and help Sky.

"No," exclaimed Drake. "…Lucas is right, Bridge, we could do more harm than good." He didn't like it but that was the way things were. By sending Bridge back in a second time, not only would they risk danger to Sky, they would risk danger to Bridge. "…Sky's defeated Omni once before, he can do it again." He stared towards Sky, hoping and praying that he wouldn't give up the fight. _….You can do this, Sky, just hang in there…_

_"…..Don't fight it, Sky, just let me in…." _

_Sky lay on the ground holding his head tightly, as he struggled to keep it together, trying to prevent Omni from taking him over. He could hear Omni's voice taunting him, sending chills down his back…. "…No. I won't let my mind be taken over…"_

_"…It wouldn't be the first time," he heard the voice hiss. "…Take a look, your mind has been twisted and turned ever since you were a boy."_

_Slowly he opened his eyes, watching the room where he was change around him and seeing he was in a different room, a two bedroom motel room. There he saw himself as a young boy and his father, and not too far from them stood Drake. He watched and listened closely to the conversation shared between his father and himself. This was the first time they had ever met; he was just five years old, and didn't understand why this was happening. He could see the struggle on both of their faces, trying to make sense of this, trying to find what they could say… He watched as his father, Wes, stepped back and said something to Drake. He then watched as Drake knelt down in front of his younger self, his face was sad and uneasy…_

"_Schuyler?"_

"_What's going on? I want to go home. I want to go see Uncle Trip."_

_Alex sighed heavily. "We can't go home, Sky, this is your home now." Alex bit his lip. "With Wes, your real dad."_

"_But I want to go with you," the boy cried. "You're my dad!"_

_Sky watched as a few tears leaked from Drake's eyes and watched as the man he had come to resent for telling him the truth took him in his arms, brushing a few strands of hair out of his face._

"_No, I'm not." His voice sounded almost heartbroken, as if some part of him wished he was the father. "This is what your mother wanted, remember? She wanted me to take you to Wes. You remember, right?"_

"_I remember," he sniffled. "Are you going to stay with me?"_

_Alex shook his head and took a hold of Sky's hand. "No."_

"_Will I ever see you again?"_

_Alex bit his lip. "Someday." _

_Sky watched as the boy, …him, threw his arms around Drake's neck, holding on for dear life. He watched as Drake wrapped his arms just as tightly around him and with a heavy heart. Sky watched as the incident that had led to his forgetting this unfolded in front of him, but not before hearing the words "…I'm sorry," be whispered into his young ears._

_The memory then began to fade away and he was back in the hall. "…You see, Sky, they took away that moment from you, they made a decision without your consent, they…."_

_"….They did what needed to be done," Sky announced, wanting to make sure Omni heard it. _

_"What!" he heard the voice roar. "…You cannot be serious."_

_"…I've never been more serious in all my life. I'm going home." He held his head up high. "…And I can promise you, Omni, that you won't be coming with me. They may have lied to me and kept the biggest secret of my life from me, but I will not betray them by joining with you, and go against everything I stand for and believe in!"_

_"…You're a fool for rejecting me!"_

_"….Goodbye, Omni." Sky watched as the purple gust of wind started to evaporate around him, taking with it all that remained of Omni; he had rejected the mysterious beast, Omni no longer had any hold and with nowhere to go he ceased to exist….._


	33. The Healing Begins

"We're just really glad you're okay," announced Bridge, as he and Z surrounded Sky while Syd hung back a few feet, keeping quiet. Her two friends talked to Sky who was lying in the hospital bed, still looking like someone had used him as a punching bag. There were stitches above his forehead and right cheek, a bandage on the side of his hand, both his left and right wrist were bandaged up and his hands all scratched up, and along with that he had several broken ribs. "You had us worried there for a while."

"So, the next time you decide to pull a stunt like that," Z looked at Sky hard in the eyes, giving that direct motherly-type look, "make sure you come to us first, so we can talk your stubborn ass out of it." Referring to him deciding to take matters into his own hands to bring Mirloc in.

"Okay, guys." Sky sighed, in all honesty not having the strength to argue. He still felt pretty sore and tired, which along with the predicament that was before him wasn't helping matters either.

"Okay guys, Sky needs to get his rest," announced Kat as she walked in. "You can visit with him later." Ever since Sky had come out of his coma and freed himself of Omni, people had been in and out of his room all day - mainly just Eric, Hayley, Megan and the Rangers, not including Chase who had helped Tommy back at the apartment keeping the kids occupied while Eric and Hayley visited with Sky for a little bit.

"All right." Bridge turned back to Sky and gripped his hand. "Check in with you later."

"Okay, Bridge."

"Sleep well, Sky." Z leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. "We're all really glad you're okay." She knew that had probably been the hundredth time today that Sky had heard that from someone, but everyone felt like it needed to be said, letting Sky know just how important he was to them. Z turned to Syd, smiling faintly as she gripped her shoulder before following Bridge out the door.

That left both Syd and Kat alone in the room with Sky. There was a long pause as Sky and Syd just stared at each other in an uncomfortable silence. Kat got the sense the two needed to talk to each other alone. "I'll give you two a few minutes to talk." She then eyed Sky. "And then you need to get some sleep." Kat closed the door behind her, leaving the two alone.

Several more seconds passed with them just looking at each other as if they were complete strangers. Neither one seemed to want to be the first to say something to the other one; even though they both knew they had to talk about this, about their relationship and everything that had gone on. Sky knew it would have to be him to bite the bullet, and with a heavy sigh….

"I'm sorry, about before, what I……."

"Do you love me?" She cut him off, looking him directly in the eyes.

"…..What?" he asked, a little taken back, not sure if he heard her correctly, even though deep down he had heard her perfectly clearly.

"Do you love me?" she asked again. On a few occasions she had told him she loved him, but never once had he said that he loved her in return. "Because, before you say anything, I want to know. I want to know what we had was _real_. I want to know that you weren't just using me so you didn't have to deal with your problems." She had tears in her eyes. The last few days had been the worst of her life and she was afraid it was only going to get worse. "Do you love me, Sky?"

"I….." Sky didn't know what to say. It was just killing him inside, seeing Syd cry, knowing he was responsible. "I….." He sighed heavily, bowing his head down and turning it away, unable to look her in the eyes, but knowing he owed it to her to give her an answer. He gathered the little ounce of courage and dignity he had left and looked up at her, staring into her bright blue eyes. "In all honesty….I don't know."

"_You don't know_?" Syd exclaimed, angry. Heartbroken and disgusted, not able to even look at him any longer, she turned away and started to leave, until Sky firmly grabbed a hold of her wrist.

"Syd, wait…."

"Why should I?" she answered coldly, as she turned to face him. "Give me one good reason why I should stay?"

"I never meant for things to….."

"To what?" she demanded. She didn't care if he was lying in a hospital bed or how hurt he was or even that only hours before he was near death. She was angry with him, she wanted to hate him and never forgive him. "You never meant to sleep with me, is that it?" Her eyes narrowed down on him. "Because it's too late for that, Schuyler Tate!"

"Will you please let me explain?"

'Fine." Syd crossed her arms against her chest, staring down at the man who she had come to love, but now only felt betrayal, toyed with, dirty even. Never in her life of knowing Sky had she ever thought he would be capable of something like this.

"You have every right to be angry with me. And I wouldn't blame you if you never forgave me for this or ever spoke to me again." This had to be one of the hardest things he had done; never in his life had he felt so ashamed. "….It was just…. I was just really upset that day. And I ended up at your parent's house. I never intended for things to go as far as they did…." He licked his lips. "But then it happened …and for the first time in a long time, my problems didn't bother me; being with you made me forget."

"You can't use sex as a way for not dealing with your problems, Sky."

"I know that!" A few tears trickled down his cheeks. He was angry with himself for what he had done, for what he had done to her. She had been his friend, and now he didn't know if he would have that. "Damnit! I know that! And the worst thing about this is I know I hurt you." He looked her in the eyes, knowing she was the best thing that had ever happened to him, but he had blown every chance of that now. "….and that I've lost one of the most important things I value: our friendship." Sky took a moment to gain back some composure; he couldn't remember the last time he had cried this badly. "I'm sorry, Sydney….I know that doesn't fix things or make them better. I just don't know what else to say."

Though he did look pathetic lying there so banged up, she wasn't finished with him. She knew if she didn't get everything out that she needed to say to him now, she might never get it out. "Do you know what I was going to tell you, the day you blew me off?" she asked, looking into his eyes. "I was going to tell you that I was _late_…." She stopped, searching his face for his reaction.

Sky could feel as his heart pounded against his chest. His eyes widened as she stared down at him, as if she were trying to see right through him. He licked his lips, knowing he had to say something. "….are you?" Just barely able to get the words out.

"…..No," she answered softly, but still with a hint of coldness. "I thought I was, but I'm not."

He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say now. While he was sure that they were both relieved that she wasn't pregnant, he wasn't sure what was supposed to happen next, because she could very easily had been. They weren't always being safe. Eric had talked to him about this, but he had been too pigheaded to listen. "I'm sorry, Sydney ….for everything." He bit his lips.

"So am I." She smiled faintly as she backed away from him, and no longer being able to take it, she fled out of the room, closing the door behind her.

He wanted to go after her, even in his condition he wanted to go after her. His bodily injures did not compare to the pain he knew he had caused Sydney, but he knew deep down there was nothing left for him to say. There was no going back for them. What they had was over and done with. The only thing he could hope now was that someday she would forgive him and that he could regain her friendship. He sighed heavily as he closed his eyes, feeling as sleep from the drugs started to take over.

* * *

"….You know a part of me wishes you could stay."

Lucas got a grin out of that, recalling a time when both he and Alex didn't get along …that seemed so long ago now. "…Yeah. I miss it here, but I have a family to get back to and someone needs to run Time Force." He knew he had to get back; he had already stayed a couple of days longer than he should have, but he had wanted to make sure that Sky would pull through.

"Make sure to give Katie and Nadira my best…."

"I'll do that." Standing there now, Lucas knew this would be the last time he and Alex would ever see each other. This time would really be goodbye…. And though they had never been the best of friends, he was still sad to leave him behind, given everything they'd all been through together, they had a history, which was something that couldn't easily be forgotten. "…You take care of yourself, Alex…." He patted his friend on the shoulder. "…I mean Drake …sorry."

"It's all right." He grinned.

Before heading into the time ship, Lucas looked his friend in the eyes. "….You did the right thing …sometimes things just happen." He had known for the last few days that Drake had been questioning himself on whether he had done the right thing by bringing Sky here all those years ago, whether he did the right thing by blocking his memories …after everything that's happened, it was only natural for him to question himself. "…Jen knows you did what you thought was right and I know you wouldn't have done anything to hurt Sky, you loved him."

Drake didn't answer, just smiled and nodded his head as he watched his old-time friend get into the time ship. He stepped back as the ship lifted off, going into the sky and disappearing in a time hole, going back to a place that he had not called home for many years.

"….He was right, you know." Drake turned to come face to face with Eric. It had been a good two or three days since the two had talked, which hadn't been a very friendly conversation. Eric rubbed the back of his head, now having had enough time to think over what he had said. He knew he had been out of line. "…I'm sorry about what I said, blaming you. It was Sky's fault, not yours… I was just angry…"

"…It's all right. …But I don't know if I can entirely agree that Sky gets total blame. Maybe for his actions he does, but for how he feels, I think some blame should fall upon me…"

Eric knew there would be no use trying to get Drake not to blame himself, because in all truth a part of him even blamed himself. "….Come on, I'll buy you a beer."

"I'd like that….."

* * *

Though it was against Kat's better judgment, the next day Sky was out of bed and sitting in a wheelchair staring out the window, with the events of yesterday and even those going further back playing over in his mind. So much had happened in his young life, some good, some bad, and some things he wished he could forget. …He had hurt a lot of people over the years, including himself. He had let his anger and his pride get the best of him and sometimes even let it get in the way of what was really important. He sighed heavily, wishing that a near death experience wasn't what had made him come to realize this ….but that's what it did take for him to finally really have his eyes opened.

"Seen anything interesting?" announced Chase, as he walked up behind Sky. He hadn't gone to see Sky yesterday, mainly because the two hadn't gotten along lately and he didn't want to disrupt Sky's recovery, knowing he had a lot of other shit to deal with.

Sky sighed heavily. He might not be able to fix things between himself and Syd, but it might not be too late to fix things with Chase. He turned himself around in the wheelchair to face his teammate. "No. Just the same old same old." He bit his lip, knowing it was now or never. "Sorry that I've been such a pain in the ass to you and for the few times that I punched you."

"…Well, I can't say I have been any better." Chase smiled faintly and took a seat on the bed across from Sky. "And I'm sure I deserved at least one of those punches." He had known he had acted equally as badly, that Sky wasn't totally to blame for the strain in their friendship.

"….Maybe." Sky wasn't too sure if that was true, knowing that he had never been the easiest person to get along with. "I want you to know you were right about Syd and me. …And I did envy you for how quickly you got involved in Hayley's, Eric's, the kids' lives." He bit his lip. "I had them all along, but instead of being a part of their family I continued to push them away." He looked Chase in the eyes. "I guess I felt threatened by you."

Chase knew this was hard for Sky, he might have only known him for a couple of months but he knew well enough that Sky was a person who didn't like to admit he had been wrong and having to apologize about it. It almost seemed like a pitiful sight to behold, the Sky before him was not the strong willed man he knew, instead he was a broken down young man whose world had come crashing down in front of him. "….I should have been a little more considerate with my words, instead going all out at you."

"No. It's probably best you said it the way you did, knowing me I probably wouldn't have listened had you said it any other way."

Chase nodded his head, partly knowing Sky was right, he was a hard headed leader who didn't like to be told off by anyone. The blue Ranger licked his lips. "….But I am sorry about you and Syd." He looked Sky in the eyes. "….Because I know that you do care about her."

"Really doesn't matter now how I feel about her," he humbly answered, knowing he had hurt Syd in the worst possible way. "…She deserves someone who will treat her right, unlike I ever did."

Chase was about to answer in response, when Commander Cruger walked into the room. "….Sorry to interrupt, but I need to have a moment alone with Lt. Tate."

"…I'll check in on you later, Sky." Chase smiled faintly, knowing that Sky would rather be facing an army of mutant robots than be cooped up in some hospital room alone with Cruger, with nowhere to run.

"Yeah," Sky answered dryly, watching as his teammate left the room. He winced a little, knowing that Cruger would not be going easy on him, even in the condition he was in. He had broken a lot of rules, along with Chase, to go after Mirloc, and then there was the situation where he was responsible for Mirloc's death, which was something he was sure Supreme Commander Bridie was giving Cruger a hard time for.

"How are you feeling today?" asked Cruger as he put his hands behind his back.

"…Like I had the crap beaten out of me." He might as well be straightforward with Cruger, this wasn't the first time the two had been in this situation, due to his recklessness and hard headedness. …But this time was somehow different; his actions had put others at risk …put the time stream at risk. It was more than enough for him to be discharged from the academy. When Cruger didn't answer, Sky cleared his throat, looking his Commander in the eyes. "I really screwed up this time, didn't I?"

"Yes. You did." He didn't like being so harsh on Sky, especially given everything that had happened, but he was really left with no choice. He couldn't just have one of his top cadets taking matters into his own hands and doing whatever the hell he felt like. "…Do you have any idea how much damage you could have caused to the time stream? You're lucky Cassie Chan was the only life altering event that changed."

"I know," he sighed heavily. "…..And I know, saying I'm sorry won't change things." He gulped in heavily, having a sick feeling in his stomach, a fear that he might lose all his rank at SPD. While he knew he deserved it, he didn't want to lose it. "…What did Supreme Commander Birdie have to say about what I did?"

"I haven't told him." He paused for a moment, watching the shocked look appear on Sky's face. "…He has very high hopes for you, Sky. I wouldn't want to disappoint him."

"…I don't understand." He couldn't believe that Cruger would keep something like this from Birdie. Birdie was his commanding officer; any time anything urgent happened here Cruger was supposed to report to him. "What I did calls for demotion, being stripped of my Ranger rank."

"Is that what you want to have happen?" he questioned him.

"…No." Of course that wasn't what he wanted to have happen. SPD meant everything to him, this was his life. "….SPD is where I want to be, sir."

"…Which is why I think I owe you one more chance to redeem yourself," stated Cruger as he eyed the cadet in the eyes hard, wanting to make sure he was very clear. "But listen to me when I tell you this, if you pull another stunt like that you will leave me no choice, Sky. I can't keep giving you chances, no matter how good a cadet or how valuable you are to SPD."

"Yes sir," he answered. He knew Cruger was taking a big chance with him, giving him one more shot. "…And thank you."

Cruger didn't answer, just nodded his head. Though he was giving Sky another shot it was going to take some time until he knew he would be able to trust the young man before him like he used to. He knew Bridie wanted him to talk to Sky about the possibility of him one day becoming the Commander here, taking his place, but right now he needed for the two of them to regain that trust that had been lost, before that discussion could come up. "…I'll leave you to get some rest."

* * *

"…Hey, did you get a chance to see Sky?" asked Z, as she walked out of one of the training rooms, while the young cadets exited the room.

"Yeah. Just with him a few minutes ago, until Cruger came in," answered Chase as he walked up to her.

"…Yeah, I figured that once Sky came out of his coma, wouldn't be long before the Commander paid him a visit." She just hoped that Cruger wasn't too hard on Sky, though deep down she knew Sky deserved everything Cruger had to throw at him, deep down she did feel bad for the guy.

"Sky's tough, I'm sure he'll handle it."

"Yeah." Z leaned against the wall. "…So, I haven't seen you in the last few days, how've you been?"

"I've been good. Hanging out with Tommy a lot." He licked his lips and looked her in the eyes. "….and been doing a lot of thinking."

"…About?"

"….That you were right. I needed to let go of my anger for Cliff, or otherwise it could have destroyed me." He had seen Sky's own vengeance nearly cost the red Ranger's young life.

"What made you change your mind?" she asked, knowing that before this he was set against letting go of his anger and only wanted revenge for what had happened.

"A lot of things actually…." He didn't know why but he felt himself drawn to Z. Perhaps it always had been there, but up until now he had been letting things like his anger, his thirst of wanting revenge and even the love he did not want to let go of, get in the way. Maybe now that since he had finally really let go, he allowed himself to see and feel again. "…How' bout I tell you over lunch?"

Z smiled. "…I'd like that, but I already promised Syd I'd have lunch with her, since she and Sky broke up and all she's been kind of down, but why don't we have dinner tonight?"

"Sounds like a plan." He smiled as he waved goodbye to her, as she headed off to have lunch with Syd. Just maybe he would find happiness again.

* * *

It was getting late, he'd had visitors come and go all day, but Syd had been the only one who had not come to see him, since they had talked last. Z and Bridge had each made an excuse for her, but he knew neither one was true. He really couldn't blame her and knew it was going to take time, and even then, deep down he knew things would never be the same between them. Not after everything they had been through, not after they stepped over the boundaries of their friendship. Things would never be the same again….

Today had mostly been about him apologizing to everyone who had come into his room. Eric had even dropped by again to check in on him; the two hadn't really had a chance to talk before, he was just starting to come out of his coma and really hadn't been all there. …He just couldn't believe that Eric had stayed hours by his bedside, especially after the way he had been treating him, but then he had learned that's what a family is. They're there for you …even when you've acted like a total ass. He cursed himself under his breath. "…I've really screwed things up with people."

"But you're trying to set things right," announced a voice. "…And that's what matters."

Sky looked up from his bed and watched as the owner of the voice stepped through the shadows of his darkened room, his face just barely visible in the light from the hall. He sighed heavily, now having the only person left who had yet to visit him show up unannounced. He knew it would only be a matter of time until the man before him would show up …but they might as well just get this over with. Besides he was too banged up and tired to just jump out of the bed and take off. "….I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever show."

"…I was wondering if you'd even want to see me, after everything." Drake walked over to Sky's bedside and took a seat. "…I guess we both got off the wrong foot. I shouldn't have thrown everything on you all at once."

"….And I guess I could have handled it a little better."

"I don't think anyone could have taken that kind of news well." He looked into the young man's battered face. "…I want you to know that I'm sorry about everything that's happened to you. And if there was a way for me to change all that, I would."

A few moments passed with Sky just staring into Drake's face ….he remembered him from before ….before all of this happened ….before his life had changed. He remembered once upon a time, that he and Drake had been close. "….I know. …You just wanted to make her happy."

"…Yeah. I did."

"….I want you to know that I don't blame you anymore." Sky knew if he didn't say it now, he might never say it. "You did what you had to do back then. I was just a kid, I couldn't have possibly have understood why…"

He knew Sky didn't have to do that, to free him. He knew the young man before him would have every right in the world to hold it against him, but instead he forgive him for what he had done all those years ago. "….You didn't have to do that."

"Yes, I did." He bit his lips. He knew that if he couldn't find it in his heart to forgive the man who had loved him, held him as a baby, then Syd would never be able to forgive him. He just hoped that one day Syd would find it in his heart to forgive him.

Drake smiled, seeing that the painkillers were starting to take their toll on Sky. He gripped his shoulder. "…Get some rest, Schuyler." He stayed, watching as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, much like he had back when he had been a little baby. Drake stood up and started to back away, keeping his eyes locked on Sky, as if he were afraid this was just a dream and that when he woke up Sky would be gone. He knew it was going to take time for him and Sky to work through everything they had been through, but if Sky was willing to put forth an effort so would he. One matter still lingered and that was, what would become of the fate of another man that would greatly affect Sky's life, who still lay deep in a coma a few rooms down the hall.

* * *

A couple of days later Eric pushed Sky in the wheelchair down towards a room where two guards stood in front of a door. The young red Ranger didn't appear pleased to be heading to where they were going, in fact he had been dreading it and had even gone as far as avoiding the whole conversation ever since he had come out of his coma. "…Why?" he questioned. "…You haven't even stepped foot inside that room."

Maybe it was wrong of him having not gone to see Wes …but he wasn't the one who needed to go in there. "I made my peace with your father a long time ago." Eric stepped around so he was face to face with Sky. "…The doctors don't know what's going to happen …but the hard truth is, that the time may come when a decision needs to be made and that will fall upon you, Sky." He eyed the young man in the eyes, knowing this was a hard thing to ever ask of anyone.

"You mean I may have to make the decision of whether to pull the plug," he flatly exclaimed, with a hint of tension and even anger.

"Yes." Eric licked his lips, feeling slightly uneasy. If he could make the choice he would, but it wasn't up to him. "…You are his son, next of kin."

Sky turned away for a moment, struggling with a bundle of emotions all at once. "…So if the doctors think he's not going to make it ….Why even go in there? What's the point? If you won't even go in there, why should I?" He looked Eric hard in the eyes. "Give me one good reason why I should."

Though it had taken some time for Eric to realize it, he finally understood the root of Sky's anger. He didn't understand before …maybe he didn't want to believe it or even see it, but it always had been there, all along. All these years. "…Because I'm not angry with him."

"….What?" Sky's eyes widened.

"Take it from a guy who's been angry for a good portion of his life." Eric sighed. "You're angry with your father, Sky, you have been for a long time, even before…." He bit his lip, it was hard for him to say it, but it needed to be said, it needed to come out, so that the healing could begin.

"…That's ridiculous."

"Is it?" he questioned, as he crossed his arms against his chest. "….We can be angry with our heroes, Sky."

Sky didn't answer as he slumped down in his wheelchair, knowing deep down Eric was right. All these years, ever since he was a boy, he had been angry with his father, his hero. He was angry that he wasn't home enough, that he always seemed to have to leave, that he wasn't there to see him grow up, that he left him. …All this time, he had been pretending to be just like his father, wanting to be the best, wanting to prove himself, when the truth was that all he was trying to prove was he didn't need …a father. …He didn't need anyone.

"…I didn't understand before at the bar, it took me time to understand that your resentment towards your father hadn't begun when you learned the truth. It was something that had always been there." Eric reached out, gripping the son of his best friend's shoulder. The truth, after all these years, had finally come out. "…It's okay, Sky. It's okay to be angry with him."

"Is it?" he questioned Eric, and even himself, as he looked up at the man who he had called his uncle as a child. "…Your job was important, _I know it is…_" He knew the work of being a Ranger was not an easy one, he had been living it. "…Maybe it's wrong for me to be angry, for wanting him all to myself."

"You were just a kid. You had every right to want him to be there, no one can ask a little boy to share their father with the world….."

A few hours had passed, allowing Sky time to think in the darkened room in silence, with only the sound of the machines and monitors helping to keep his father stable, even though he was breathing on his own. He still couldn't believe that he had been angry with his father, he had come up with this fantasy as a child that his father was perfect, but the truth was he had only done that for himself.

Sky just sat in his wheelchair near his father's bed, just watching him sleep. No one knew if he would ever wake up or even what to expect if he did, for all they knew his mind could be gone. He might no longer be the same Wesley Collins they all had known. But right now the only thing that was in Sky's mind was what Eric had said to him, just hours ago. _'What are you afraid of more, that he won't ever wake up or that he will?' _Was he afraid that his father would come out of the coma? He must be, because he didn't want to come anywhere near this room, Eric had practically forced him to come here and sit with his father, so that he could settle his unresolved issues.

He was afraid. More afraid then he ever thought imaginable. Back when he was just a boy, this had been all he had ever wished for, but now after knowing the truth and knowing that his father had lied to him, that changed the way he felt about things. He didn't know what he would say to his father if he woke up. He was so angry and confused about everything.

This hadn't exactly been his week. Sighing heavily, he ran his hand over his face and through his hair. He stared into his father's still face, trying to come up with what he would want to say to him, but nothing would come up. He didn't know if it was because he was just feeling tired, feeling the aches and pains of his body and the effects of the painkillers or if there was just too much to say at once. "…What am I going to do?" He looked once more at his father before he started to roll his wheelchair to head back to his room to get some rest when…He saw a small twitch in his father's hand.

Eyes widening, his heart racing fast, Sky remained still, watching the hand for several seconds until his eyes moved towards the face of his father, as he watched as the eyes he thought he'd never see again opened.

It took several long minutes for Wes to take everything in, trying to figure out where he was; the room was dark and his body hurt all over, his throat felt dry. He was frightened at first, until his eyes fell upon a young man sitting in a wheelchair by his bedside, looking like someone had used him as a punching bag. "…Wh-where am I?"

Sky didn't answer right away, he was still in shock that his father had woken up and was speaking to him, even though it was just barely a whisper of muffled words. He cleared his throat. "…You're in the SPD hospital."

"Hospital…" He seemed to play the word over in his mind. He winced slightly, as if it hurt for him to think.

He couldn't move, he knew he should go and get out of the room to let Kat know that his father had woken up, but he couldn't bring himself to leave just yet. "….Don't you remember what happened?"

"Remember?" Wes questioned it, as he closed and opened his eyes a few times, trying to remember the events that had taken place. And then his eyes widened with fear and his heart starting racing. "….The battle." He was nearly in a panic.

Sky could see the heart rate start to go up; he reached out and gripped his father's shoulder. "You need to calm down."

Wes didn't know what it was, but there was something about the way he said it, that helped bring him back down. He took a few breaths to calm himself and get his heart rate back to where it was not threatening. "….Mirloc."

"That's right…."

"….My partner and I, we were fighting Mirloc."

And that's when Sky realized that what his father was remembering was what had happened fourteen years ago…

Wes stared at him with pleading eyes. "…My partner, Eric, is he…."

"….Eric's fine."

"….And Mirloc?"

Sky sighed heavily, knowing now his father's condition was not good, he didn't have to be a doctor to know that. But for now all he could do was answer his father's questions, as carefully as he could. "….He won't ever be able to hurt anyone again." …He had made damn sure of that.

"….Good." His breaths were soft as he let out a sigh of relief. "I thought I was a goner." He had been sure he was going to die, that he would never see the light of day again, never see any of the people he loved with all his heart.

Sky never answered, just shook his head and watched his father, a pang in his heart, but it only got worse when the next question was asked…..

"Do you know if my family is here?" Wes licked his lips, trying to get them wet and get rid of the dryness. "…My wife, son and father?" It did seem slightly odd to him to find what he believed was a cadet who must have been injured in the attack and not to have his family by his side, but he was still a little too out of it to even ask the question.

"….Um, I should really go get Dr. Manx, she'll be able to answer the rest of your questions." Sky started to roll his wheelchair, just wanting to get out of the room as quickly as possible.

"Thank you…." Wes answered, watching as the young cadet rolled out of the room. He took a breath in, feeling sleep come over him, but a good sleep, a sleep he knew that he would wake up from when he regained his strength.


	34. Tell me It isn't So

"….This is what I was afraid of," exclaimed Kat. Only moments ago, Sky had found her talking with Commander Cruger and Eric in the Command Center and had told them that his father, Commander Wesley Collins, had woken up with the belief that not much time had gone by, maybe only a few days or a couple of weeks at the most. Sky, exhausted, had retired back to his room, though everyone suspected he didn't want to partake in the conversation dealing with his father.

Eric was still coming to terms with the reality that his best friend, the man he had once called his brother, had come out of a coma that no one thought he would ever wake from, but they were wrong …. And he foresaw more problems likely to follow in the next couple of days, because eventually the time would come when they would have to tell Wes the truth about how much time had really gone by. Everyone knew it was going to come as a big blow to him and might even hurt him more than the injures he had withstood some fourteen years earlier. ….Not to mention the fact that they would at some point have to let the rest of the world and even the neighboring planets of the alliance know that Wesley Collins was alive.

"What do you recommend we do then, Dr. Manx?" asked Commander Cruger, knowing that she would be the best suited to make decisions in these type of situation. He would be able to hold off a little while before word began to spread through the academy that one of the greatest Rangers who had ever walked these halls was alive and recovering.

Kat turned to Eric, but she knew they all knew in this very room what would have to be done. "….We take it slow the first couple of days, tell him very little, until I know he's strong enough to hear the truth." Her eyes saddened, knowing how difficult this most be for Eric. "This will hurt him…"

"…Which is why, when the time does come," Eric stepped forward, his heart racing, pounding against his chest, "I want to be the one to tell him." He looked the two in the eyes. "I owe him that much." He knew it wouldn't be easy, but deep down it would be better coming from him. Wes's father was dead, Lisa had remarried and started a family, and Sky… it probably wouldn't be best having him be the one to say it, since Wes would be expecting to see a little boy and not a young adult. He was the only one who could do it.

Both Kat and Cruger agreed that it probably would be best coming from Eric, than from one of them…..

Kat entered into Wes's darkened room, a room that had no mirrors or windows. Even though she for the last couple of days had known that he was alive, she still felt a little shaken to know he had come out of it, that he was awake and talking, …asking questions, that she knew she would have to find some way to avoid, to push back from having to tell the truth a little longer.

"…Hey." Wes smiled faintly as he opened his eyes, sensing a shadow hovering over him. He felt a sort of relief come over him from seeing a familiar face. "…Now there's a face I never thought I'd see again." His voice was a little hoarse, but it was coherent enough to be understood.

"You gave us all quite a scare," answered Kat, as she began to read over the monitors, checking his vitals, wanting to make sure just what the extent of everything was.

"….The kid that was in here with me ….he said Eric was okay, that he made it out?" At the moment that was all that really concerned him, was that his friend was okay, that along with his team. He just wanted to make sure that everyone had made it out okay…

Kat smiled faintly, but knew she couldn't let on she knew more than she was telling. "Yes. Eric's just fine, he wanted me to tell you hello and that he'll check in on you later…."

Wes nodded his head and watched as Kat went over to the counter to get him some water and helped him take a sip. It felt as though he had not had something to drink in forever, because it felt like the best water he had ever tasted. "…Never thought water could taste so good." He laid his head back down on the pillow. "…How's Sky holding up? I didn't mean to frighten him."

Kat didn't answer right away and was thankful there was little light in the room, so that Wes could not see that distant look in her eyes. "He's a tough kid."

"…Is he here?"

"….He….he's sleeping, it's been a long week for him." It wasn't so much a lie, but it wasn't really the truth either; Sky was in his room sleeping and it had been a long week for him, but not so much in the way she was leading Wes to believe. "…But I'm sure he'll be happy to know that you're up."

Wes smiled back at her, already starting to feel sleep once again take over. "…Will you tell my dad and Lisa that I love them ….And Sky too."

"…I will," answered Kat softly, watching as her old friend closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. She had been around for over a hundred years, had seen a lot of things in her life, lots of death, pain and suffering, but what she knew was ahead for Wes - who had lost fourteen years of his life, watching his son grow up and everything else that would go along with it …somehow didn't seem to compare with anything she had ever been through.

* * *

"….No, it's okay, I'm glad you called," said Z into the phone. She was all snuggled up on the couch. She and Syd had been watching a movie when Bridge called, and the young green Ranger was concerned that he had called too late, but Z had assured him that it was just fine. "Did Kat or Cruger say anything more, other than…."

Syd continued to watch the movie while Z talked to Bridge, trying not to eavesdrop, especially when the conversation mentioned someone she was trying not to think about altogether, which was something she was finding harder and harder to do.

"….Is he okay…."

Syd turned her head, watching Z as her friend nodded her head, playing with her hair at the same time. There was a brief moment when both of their eyes met. Z knew that Syd was still plenty upset, hurt and angry because of certain events that had taken place over the past few days.

"…Yeah, I'm sure it is…… Syd?" Z gave her friend a faint smile. "….No, she went to bed early, I'll tell her in the morning." She nodded her head, still keeping her eyes locked on Syd. "…Yeah. See you in the morning. …Bye." Z hung up the phone.

"….Commander Collins woke up?" She had gathered that much from the conversation.

"Yeah," Z answered, then licking her lips and bowing her head slightly. She couldn't help feeling saddened by the whole situation, and though she had never known Wesley Collins she still felt bad…. "…But he doesn't know that it's been fourteen years, let alone that everyone thought he was dead."

"….That's awful." Her pretty blue eyes seemed to twinkle in sadness, like Z she too had never known the man, her father had, but he rarely ever talked of him. She couldn't even be sure if they had even been friends. "When are they going to tell him?"

Z shrugged her shoulders. "…Bridge wasn't sure; he thought maybe a couple of days, just depends on how he checks out with Kat."

The young pink Ranger nodded her head, seeming to agree. "…Well, I'm going to head to bed." Syd got up and started towards her bedroom.

She kept waiting for her to ask about Sky, how he might be feeling ….because it would be so like Syd to ask how everyone was feeling, that's the type of person she was. But she never even mentioned Sky's name, in fact she hadn't since they had all gone to see him when he had first woken up. ….And while she couldn't blame her for not wanting to ask about him, it just broke her heart that Syd acted as though she didn't care at all about Sky, even though deep down she knew that she did. "…Aren't you going to ask about him, Syd?"

Syd stopped; she turned to face Z, now all teary eyed. "…I _can't_." There was a lump in her throat. "….It hurts too much." She did care. She knew how hard this must be for Sky, but with everything that had happened between them. ….She couldn't be there for him, it just would be too hard.

"You're still in love with him….." Z didn't need her to answer back to know the answer, it was written all over Syd's face. Despite everything that had happened, how he treated her and let her down, she still loved him with all her heart, which made their breakup all the harder.

* * *

"….How you holding up?" asked Eric as he walked into Sky's room. It was nearing ten at night. He had just gotten off the phone with Hayley, letting her know that Wes had woken up and that he probably wouldn't get back to the apartment until later on that night.

"How do you think?" Sky exclaimed as he turned away from the window, looking at Eric. ….He didn't think it was possible that this week could get any worse, but it had. He didn't know what to think. "….He didn't have a clue who I was." Sky pushed himself out of his chair and began to stumble towards his bed; Eric rushed to his side, but Sky pushed him away, not wanting his help or pity.

"….In time he'll know. We just need to wait a couple of days."

"And then what?" Sky asked him, looking him hard in the eyes. "….What happens next? ….We just go on like nothing ever happened?"

"That would be up to you. …I can't tell you what to do here, Sky." Eric wished he could have this grand speech and then everything would make sense, but he didn't know what else he could say. He himself was having his own problems, of how he was going to tell Wes the truth. It was not something he was looking forward to, in fact he could think of a thousand other things he'd like to do besides having that conversation. He gripped Sky's shoulder….

"I'd like to be alone….."

"…Okay." He smiled faintly. "….There's something I need to take care of tomorrow, but I'm sure Hayley will come by to see you. Megan and the kids have been asking about you."

* * *

Eric stood at the front door of a two story fenced-in yard house that stood in a nice neighborhood. As he had driven down the streets he could see it was a good place to raise a family. Dad and their kids were riding bikes or rollerblading, a group of friends were playing basketball in the driveway. It was homey…

It had been a good four to five hour plane ride and then a little over an hour's drive, but it did give him some time to think about what he was going to have to say to his old friend when he got back…. He didn't know how much time had gone by while he had just been standing there staring at the door, with his arms still. But someone must have taken notice of him, because the front door opened to reveal a young eleven year old boy.

"…Can I help you?" he asked, as he pushed his little sister and brother away, who were trying to poke their way through to see who the visitor was. They looked like they were maybe five or six.

"….Um," Eric started to say, but his voice was overtaken by a woman's voice coming from around the corner.

"Colton, who's at the door…." Her son was about to answer when she made her way up to the door and came face to face with the man standing there. Her eyes widened as she stared at him for moment, as if she didn't recognize the face at first. "….Eric?" she uttered, not even sure if the man before her was Eric, someone she had not seen in years.

"Hey, Lisa." Eric smiled faintly. "…It's been a long time."

"Yeah. It has," she answered, still not believing that Eric Myers was standing at her door, especially after all these years. He was the last person she'd ever expect to show up at her doorstep.

"Mommy, who's Eric…" asked Lucy, as she came around and tugged at her mother's leg, looking up at the man with dark black hair.

"Eric's an old friend of Mommy's." She didn't know why Eric was here, they hadn't talked to each other in over ten years, but from the short time she had known him she knew he wouldn't be here unless it was important. She turned to her oldest son, Colt. "…Colt, can you please take Lucy and Luc out back and keep them occupied while I talk with Eric?"

"Sure, Mom." He nodded his head and then took his brother and sister by their hands towards the back door.

"…Please come in." She led him towards the living room where they could sit and talk, catch up on old times. "Can I get you something to drink?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine." He took a seat across from her. "Thanks…"

"…So." She folded her hands in her lap, and right away she could see that Eric was uncomfortable, probably just as much as she was. When she had left the Collins home Eric was still in a coma and that was the last time she had seen him. Though this felt awkward, it was a nice change to see him up and around …and looking just as strong and bold as she remembered him. "…How is everything?"

"…Things are good."

"Good." Lisa nodded her head, glad that the edge she was feeling was starting to wear off. "…I read in the papers that you took over Bio-Lab after Alec died."

"…Yeah, I did."

She sighed heavily. "….I would have come to the funeral, but…."

"It's okay."

Lisa nodded her head and smiled faintly. Though she knew she had no right to ask this question, she had given up any of that all those years ago …but a day had not gone by that she didn't think of him. "How is he?"

"…He's all grown up now, but still just as stubborn as he was back then." He could tell this was hard for her, asking about Sky, and he knew that it was only going to get harder, especially when he said what he had come here to tell her. "He's been at the academy ever since Alec died. Last year he was chosen to be the blue Ranger, but has since been promoted to red Ranger."

"….He always wanted to be a Ranger, ever since he was a little boy."

"Yeah." Eric's eyes wandered to the window, where he could see Lisa's children playing ball in the backyard, laughing and having a good time. "…You have three good-looking kids there."

She turned to watch them. "…They take after their father, Mitch." Lisa turned back in her seat to face Eric. "How's Hayley, did you two have any more children?"

"Hayley's good." He licked his lips, knowing the time would be coming when he would have to tell her, he had put it off for as long as he could. "…We ended up having two more: Erin, who's twelve, and a little boy who's seven…" He bit his lip. "…We named him Wesley."

The sound of her dead husband's name did sadden her a little, because even after all these years a part of her still hadn't stopped loving him even though she was very much in love with Mitch, the father of her children. It didn't surprise her that Eric would have named his son after him. She would have almost expected him to. "…He would have liked that."

"Yeah…" Eric cleared his throat, feeling his heart pound against his chest. This was going to be hard…. It wasn't every day you told someone that someone they had loved wasn't really dead.

"…Eric, are you all right?" she asked, getting concerned. He looked as though he was going to get sick.

"Lisa…." He smiled faintly. "…This isn't going to be easy for you to hear, but I thought you should hear it from me before it gets out in the news and the papers…"

"What are you talking about…." She didn't like where this was going or even the sound in his voice, it scared her.

He bit his lip and sighed heavily. "…About a week ago, we learned that Mirloc had someone trapped inside of him…." He looked her in the eyes, knowing that she would begin to see where he was going with this. "Wes is _alive_ …Lisa…."

"What?" Had she just heard him right? "….You didn't just say Wes is alive, did you?"

"…..He just came of a coma yesterday."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing, all these years she had gone on with the belief that he was dead and was never coming back, but now today she had learned that he had been alive all that time. It was unreal. She didn't know what to think of it or how she should feel, considering…. "….Does he know that I'm remarried?"

The question was like a knife to the heart, a feeling he thought he would never feel. "…He doesn't think much time has passed, a couple of weeks at the most."

"….Oh God…" She felt her heart breaking into a million pieces, knowing that it would break Wes's heart…. In more ways than one.

"You didn't know…." Eric knew she was feeling guilty, and though years ago he had been angry at her for leaving, he couldn't be now, not for this. "None of us did." He got up and sat down next to her. "…You moved on, Lisa, there was nothing wrong with that. Wes would have wanted you to move on, have a family, just like you did."

"…Still doesn't make it any easier."

He shook his head, knowing she was right, no matter how you looked at it or how many ways you said it, it was still hard. "….I'm sorry, I never meant for you to get hurt." He wrapped an arm around her.

"No, it's okay." She looked up at him all teary eyed. "…I'm glad you told me. I'd rather it be you then some stranger on the news."

**A couple of days later….**

"We could get in really big trouble for being in here," exclaimed Sam, as he and Megan roamed around in the intensive care unit room where the long ago commander was heavily sleeping. This had been the first time since they had stowed away in the timeship with Drake that they had been able to hang out, while Sam had been under strict orders to get some rest. They had just come from seeing Sky, who was surprisingly pleased to see the two, though he didn't say it in so many words. The only way they had known that Sky was happy to see them was because he had thanked Sam for doing what he did and that he could teleport in the apartment whenever he wanted.

"I don't recall you objecting when I asked you to teleport us here." Megan scanned the room, looking at all the machines and wires, trying to make some sense of what it all did as she moved towards Wes, who was sound asleep. "Besides we're already in trouble."

"_Exactly_, I don't want to get in any more trouble."

"Then teleport out if you want, I'll just sneak out the door." She looked at Wes's battered face, so many cuts and bruises. It just seemed so unreal to her that he was really here.

"So he's your uncle, in a way." Sam had decided not to teleport out after all, feeling some sort of sense of adventure, not that he had gotten that from their last stunt of time-jumping along with Drake Alexander, a man who resembled the man lying in the bed now.

Megan nodded her head softly. She had been far too young to remember Wes. She wasn't even a year old when it all had happened. All she knew were the things her parents had told her and Sky bringing him up every once in a while. And then there was the picture she had of when she was just a few days old, of Wes holding her like a proud uncle. "Yeah…." And even though she really had never known him, a part of her always had felt like she had. "My middle name actually came from his mother."

"What are you doing? Sam asked, watching as Megan leaned closer to Wes, almost as if she were checking to make sure he was still breathing.

"Trying to see…."

"See?" asked Sam, as he watched her move closer.

"See if…" Just as Megan was leaning in for a better look, Wes's eyes shot open. "Ahh.…" Megan's heart raced as both she and Sam jumped back, neither one expecting that to happen.

Wes turned his head to look at the two young children. "Sorry, did I scare you? I didn't mean to scare you."

"Scare me?" Megan laughed as she crossed her arms against her chest, acting all bold. "…Nothing scares me." She pointed over at Sam. "…He was the one who was scared."

"Liar," Sam exclaimed. "…You were too scared, you jumped."

"Only to get over to you fast enough to make sure you're okay…"

Wes couldn't help but laugh, even though it hurt his chest a little. "You two are funny. Whose kids are you?"

Sam and Megan stared at each other, neither one were expecting for him to wake up. Megan knew she couldn't say who she was; Wes would be expecting Megan Myers to be just a little baby no more than a couple or so months old. "…Ah…" Megan started trying to come up with something to say, when they heard footsteps coming their way.

"Someone's coming," announced Sam.

"…It's probably Kat, we got to get out of here!" She looked at her uncle. "…Ah, bye, nice talking to you."

"Wait…. I…." But before he could even finish his sentence he watched as the boy grabbed the girl's hand and they disappeared out of sight. _What the hell… Did they just teleport out of the room?_

"…Everything okay, Wes?" asked Kat as she closed the door behind her, holding a clipboard in her hands.

"…I must be losing it." He looked up at her. "I swear I was talking to these two kids, and then they just disappeared out of sight," But he was sure that was exactly what had happened, that he hadn't just imagined it. "…I think they teleported out." But even that made no sense to him; as far as he knew no human had that ability.

Kat frowned, having a pretty good idea as to who may have been in the room just before she arrived. She would have to deal with those two later…. "…I'm sure you were just dreaming." Kat smiled. "…So let's see how your vitals check out today," wanting to avoid the whole conversation on who his little visitors were.

Wes didn't know what it was, but he felt like something more was going on here, something she wasn't telling him. He had started to get that feeling the day after he had come out of his coma. "….What's going on, Kat?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, as she checked over the monitors and wrote on her clipboard.

"Why hasn't anyone else come to see me?" he questioned her. His body might be weak, but his mind wasn't. "…Besides those two kids, and the one when I first woke up …you and Cruger are the only other ones who have come to see me." With each day that passed he was becoming more and more suspicious that something was very wrong. "…And what is with the guards posted outside the door?"

"…..You need to get more rest before you can see anyone else." Kat tried pushing it aside; it hadn't even been a full two days now and she felt that now would not be the best time for him to know everything. "That's why the guards are there, so no one will bother you."

"That's bullshit and you know it!" he exclaimed, starting to get frustrated. _He knew_ that there was something that was being kept from him and it had nothing to do with him getting some rest. Rest was all he had been doing since he woke up. He had not been allowed outside this room; he couldn't even watch TV or read a paper. "…I'm not stupid, Kat, what's going on here…?"

Kat sighed heavily, as she bowed her head down from a moment. The past couple of days she had known his condition was progressing, despite a few scratches and cuts along with a couple of broken bones. He was fine - being inside Mirloc all that time, other than the whole time lapse, had done no permanent damage. "…It's complicated, Wes." Her eyes saddened.

"What? …What could be so bad that you can't tell me?" He couldn't understand why she wasn't being truthful with him.

* * *

Megan and Sam were running down the hall not looking where they were going and ran smack into her parents. "…Woh…. Where's the fire!" exclaimed Hayley, knowing very well that both young teens knew better than to be running down the halls of the academy, especially in the medical floor. "…Shouldn't you two be in your dorm rooms? It's late."

"…Mom," Megan exclaimed and then spotted her father. "….And _Dad_. …Your back!"

"Yeah," starting to become a little suspicious. "…Your mother just picked me up from the airport." He crossed his arms against his chest, staring both teens down, knowing something was up. "What did you do?"

Megan gave him an innocent look. "…What makes you think we did anything?"

_Do I look like I'm stupid…._ Eric smirked, knowing all too well that his daughter was back to her old self, getting into things she shouldn't be messing with. "…Because I got this thing I like to call dad's radar, they tells me when kids are lying to me,"

"….Your morpher can do that," asked Sam ….and he really meant it.

"Sam!" Megan elbowed him, knowing he had blown any chance of them getting out of this.

"….KAT! Please just tell me what the hell is going on here…..!" Wes's voice could be heard down the hall.

"…Was that?" Hayley turned to Eric and then both of their eyes fell onto their daughter and her young friend. "….Did you two go see Wes? ….How'd you get passed the…" then she shook her head, knowing very well how they would have got passed the guards unnoticed. "..Never mind,"

"…Did you say anything to him?" asked Eric looking his daughter right in the eyes, it wasn't in a mean way, but it wasn't too nice either.

"No. Of course not, he was sleeping for most of the time we were in there, and then he woke up,"

"….We heard Kat coming, so I got us out of there," finished Sam.

"And let me guess, he saw you teleport out," Eric just shook his head, knowing now, unless Kat could calm Wes down, today would be the day when he would have to tell Wes what had happened.

"….Sorry," she really did mean it. "….I just wanted to see him," ever since she was born, she had heard stories about her father and Wes. She just wanted to know what he was like ….with her own eyes.

"….Wes you need to calm down, you going to scare the other patents. It's late,"

"…I don't care how late it is," he started to push himself out of the bed, if she wasn't going to tell him what was going on, then he was going to find out on his own. "…If you won't tell me what's going on here, then I'll find out on my own,"

"…Wes, get your ass back in bed!"

Wes turned his head towards the door and saw someone standing in the shadows. "…Eric?" he was sure that was Eric's voice, but he was a little surprised to see him standing on his own two feet, as if he were expecting him to be walking on crutches or in wheelchair.

"Eric, this might not be the best time…." Kat walked up to him, looking him in the eyes.

He sighed heavily, licking his lips; he could feel his heart racing. "…There is no best time, not for this."

"….Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?" asked Wes. "…You're all acting as though someone died."

Kat and Eric shared a concerned glance with each other as she gripped Eric's shoulder, giving him the nod that she was okay with what he was about to do. Deep down she knew he was right, no matter how long they put this off it wouldn't get any easier. "…I'll give you two some time alone."

Eric remained in the shadows a little longer, knowing the moment he walked into the light …that would change everything. He thought he might have had more time to come up with the right words, but there were no right words or right way to tell him. "….You have no idea how good it is to hear you talking."

"….Eric." Wes wasn't liking the sound in his friend's voice and that scared him a little, because Eric was not acting like himself, which made Wes all the more concerned. "…You're acting like you haven't heard my voice in years."

Eric bit his lips. "….Wes, something… something happened that day …with Mirloc."

"…What are you talking about, that kid said he was dead."

"He is dead…." If only it was something as simple as that, but it wasn't, Mirloc might be gone forever, but he had left a great deal of pain and suffering behind. "…Wes, I…"

"….Eric, just spit it out." He just knew that there was something Eric was saying, wasn't telling him. "What aren't you telling me?"

_All right, here goes nothing. _"….When Mirloc threw that bomb at you …It wasn't just a bomb, it was so that he could imprison you inside of him and then exchange you with a double, a Mimican…"

Wes was starting to feel sick to his stomach; he wasn't liking where this was going. "….What are you saying, Eric?"

He took a deep breath, knowing it was now or never. He stepped into the light, to reveal an older Eric than the one his friend would remember. "…It's been a little more than fourteen years." He had a lump in his throat as he tried not to watch all the emotions show on Wes's face, because it was so unbearable. "For fourteen years we thought that you were dead…"

"No…." Wes shook his head, not wanting to believe it. "….You're lying." …But deep down, he knew it was true.

"No." Eric shook his head. "….I wish I was. …God, I wish, but I'm not…." He hated this, every moment of this, and it would only get worse. "….I'm sorry, Wes, but it's 2021, it's been fourteen years." He ran his hand through his hair. "…That girl who was in here with the boy, just a while ago…" He paused for a moment. "….That was Megan, my daughter."

He didn't want it to be true. He wanted it to be a lie, but he knew… deep down he knew. Eric wouldn't lie to him, not about this. "…What else?" He knew there was more; he had lost fourteen years, over a decade. A lot could happen in that amount of time. "…What else do you have to tell me, because I know there's more."

He sighed heavily as he took a seat, knowing this could take some time, but he would get the most important stuff out in the open first. "….Lisa, she won't be here. After….she's remarried now, living in Ohio, has three kids, two boys and a girl."

It did hurt to know that she wouldn't be here for him, but he couldn't be angry at her. After all, she had thought he was dead …she had every right to move on and start again. She always did want a family, to have children. He just always thought it would be with him. "….Go on." He was ready, he wanted to know it all.

"Seven years ago, your father had a massive heart attack. ….I'm sorry, Wes, he didn't make it." He could only begin to imagine what that must feel like, being told that someone who in his mind had been alive only moments before, who he loved very much, was now dead …but then he could. Fourteen years ago when he had woken up out of his coma, Hayley had told him that the man now before him had died….

"….He never could handle death. …His heart just was never strong enough." Wes had a lump in his throat, and now only one more question remained, but he was sure he had figured that one out already on his own. The pieces were starting to come together… "…That was _him,_ wasn't it, the cadet in here when I woke up." He looked his old friend right in the eyes.

"Yeah." Eric nodded his head. ..Now that was something that he had no idea what it would feel like, to have seen your child ….no longer a child. "…But he's not a cadet anymore, he was promoted to Lieutenant some months ago."

"He's a Ranger?"

Eric nodded his head. "…Yeah, he's red."

It was hard taking all of this in; he felt like he was going to get sick, because he was feeling so many things right now. "He killed Mirloc….."

"Yeah. He did…." Eric licked his lips. "…But he had good reason. It's a long story but it's one you need to hear, along with a few other things that you should know about." He took a deep breath, knowing that it would be very draining on both of them. "….If you're ready to hear it."

"…Don't really have much of a choice."


	35. Father and Son

Wes lay still in the hospital bed in a new room with a television; a lot was on his mind. He had missed a little more than fourteen years of his life, trapped inside Mirloc's dimension, a dimension without time, without knowing, …without anything. His father was dead. Lisa had moved on, remarried and had started a family. …And his son was all grown up now. He had missed Sky's childhood. He had missed welcoming Eric's two other children Erin and the son who had been named after him into the world. There was so much that had happened, so much he had missed.

Though he was happy to be alive and out of Mirloc's dimension, a part of him wondered if things would be better if he hadn't been freed; everything seemed such a mess now. He looked in the mirror to his side, seeing his reflection. It seemed strange to see himself fourteen years older; he could see a few stray grey hairs, while inside he didn't feel any older.

"Hey…."

Wes turned his head and saw Alex, or Drake as Eric had told him Alex went by now. Eric had told him a lot about Drake: that he had been married and had a daughter who was the same age as Eric's youngest daughter Erin, and that Drake's wife had died some time ago. "Hey…." was all Wes could manage to say. He didn't know what to say; a part of him knew he should thank Drake for figuring out that he had been trapped inside Mirloc all this time, but a part of him wasn't sure how thankful he really was for that. ….Although Sky had been trapped inside too.

Drake let out a sigh, knowing this wasn't easy for Wes. ….It wasn't easy on any of them. Sky hadn't even come in to see Wes since he had been told the truth. He took a deep breath and stepped over to the bed and looked Wes over. "How you doing?" Even as he asked it, he knew it was a dumb question. He knew very well how Wes was doing. How would someone feel, waking up to a world they no longer recognized, when everything they had known and loved had changed?

"How do you think I'm doing?" Wes almost roared, but stopped himself. He shouldn't be mad at Drake. He should be mad at Mirloc. It had been Mirloc who did this, who took his life away, and had caused this huge problem for all of them to deal with. "…Sorry I snapped," he sighed heavily. "…All this… It's just hard to take in."

Drake nodded his head, fully understanding, he could even begin to imagine what Wes must be going through. "I'm sorry that this happened to you, Wes." He truly was sorry. It was eating him up inside, in ways he had never thought were possible. "I wish I had figured it out years ago."

"So do I," Wes whispered, as he sighed. "….I think a part of me knew I was trapped. I tried to reach out, but I could never stay long enough…." It was all really a blur to him.

"Yeah," Drake sighed. He bit his lips and looked into Wes's eyes. "….But you'll get through this, with us to help you through it." He gripped Wes's shoulder; it seemed strange now saying that, as years before he and Wes had always been at odds, but Sky had been the one thing that brought them together …that and Jen. "…You know that if there was a way for me to bring Jen back ….I would."

"I know." He smiled faintly. "….But not everyone can rise from the dead."

"Well, I don't know about that, you've done it twice…." Tommy chuckled as he walked into the room. "…It's good to see you, Wes."

"Tommy." Wes reached out to shake his old friend's hand. "…It's good to see you too." He had learned a few things about Tommy too from Eric, about his girlfriend Kim losing the baby and then about Chase, Tommy and Hayley's son, who happened to be the blue Ranger and second in command after his son. "Eric told me about you and Kim …I'm sorry."

"Thanks. It's been hard, but it's getting better." Though the pain of losing a child would never really go away, he was finding himself able to move on with his life.

"I hope that you two are able to work things out."

Tommy smiled. "…Me too. She actually is coming in next week with her son…"

"You two going to get back together?"

"….We're….We're going to talk, see where things go."

"I wish you the best of luck."

"Hey, it should be me wishing you luck, with everything that's ahead of you."

Wes had to laugh at that, he couldn't help but laugh. "…Yeah, Eric told me that practically every news station wants an interview with me."

"Well, if you need any help holding them off let me know. I'm sure I can pull a few strings to keep them off your back."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

"…Well, I should be going. I told Chase I'd meet him for lunch." Tommy waved goodbye to both Drake and Wes before making his exit.

"…Daddy!" Jenny came running into the room.

"Jenny, I thought I told you to stay with Hayley and Erin in the mess hall," said Drake.

"I know, but I wanted to see you." It had been a hectic week and she had seen very little of her father and was beginning to miss him.

Drake couldn't be mad at her; he hadn't been around lately. "Come here." He put his arms around his daughter, holding her close to him. He then spotted Wes staring at the two of them with a smile on his face. "…Jenny, I want you to meet someone."

Jenny turned to come face to face with Wes, a man who looked very much like her father, just a little younger. "…He looks like you." She looked up at her father. "…Are you two brothers?"

"…More like distant cousins," Wes answered, knowing that would be a little easier to explain than being brothers. "I'm Wes." He put out his hand. "It's very nice to finally meet you, Jenny."

"You're Sky's dad, right?"

"That's right…"

"You're a lot nicer than he is."

Drake gripped Jenny's shoulders. "…Well, that's because Sky's a little more moody, like his mother."

Watching the two interact, Wes just hoped that he and Sky would be able to have that again, but he knew it was not going to be easy. Eric had made it very clear that the small boy he had once known was no more; Sky had grown up and was a very angry young man.

* * *

Sky was moving around in the common room, finally able to be out of his hospital room and go where he pleased, provided he didn't stray too far from the academy. Kat wanted him to stay at least two more days before he headed back home to his apartment. He walked around on crutches even though the doctors would have preferred he use the wheelchair for a couple more days, but he was growing tired of sitting on his ass most of the day and wanted to be up on his feet, no matter how tender he felt. His ribs were starting to feel a little bit better, but still hurt like hell. None of the older cadets were in the room, just a group of kids, the same group of five that he had taught a class to not too long ago.

"…Come on, Willie, play with us, it's fun," begged Eli, as he and the other children gathered around the older boy.

"No! Games are for babies!" exclaimed the nine year old. "…I got more important things to do than hang out with you losers and play your stupid games."

"Willie!" shouted Kit, not liking his tone. "Take that back."

"Yeah, that's not very nice, Willie," yelled Julie, who yelled back at him. Since she was the next oldest of the group, she was sort of like a mother to the twins Eli and Ali. She took the two by the hands, letting them know everything was going to be okay."…Now say you're sorry."

"No," he shouted back. "….You guys just don't get it, SPD isn't about fun and games. It's about hard work and I plan on working hard so that I can be a Ranger someday and take on the bad guys." He crossed his arms against his chest. "I won't have the time to be friends with you guys and do childish things."

"…Is there a problem here?" announced Sky, as he joined in before things could get out of hand.

"Lt. Tate…." Willie turned to meet his hero. "I was just telling these _kids_ that I wouldn't have any more time for them, because I'm going to be working hard to be like you, a Power Ranger."

_….Is this really how I am?_ He could recall several occasions when he had chosen work over spending time with his friends. Sky sighed heavily as he bent down so he could be eye level with Willie. He couldn't help but see the hurt eyes from Julie, Kit and the twins who had been hurt by Willie's words. He knew right then and there that the four depended on Willie being there for them. "…You don't want to be me, Willie."

"_What_?" The young boy couldn't believe what he had just heard. "…Why not? You're red Ranger…. You're the best officer at the academy and you _killed _Mirloc." Ever since Cruger had told him that Mirloc had been responsible for the death of his uncle, his only remaining relative, Willie had become consumed with wanting to be the best and walk in the shadows of the academy's red Ranger, the man who had taken care of Mirloc, made him pay for his crimes. "I want that. What else could I possibly need, besides that?"

"Friends…." Sky answered, after everything that had happened to him, that was the one thing he had come to realize was the most important about his work here at the academy. "You need friends…" He eyed the four other children. "You need them." He gripped Willie's shoulder. "…Don't be me, Willie, or one day you may end up alone." He sighed heavily.

"But I thought…."

Out of the corner of his eye, Sky spotted Syd walking by and looking at them briefly. "…I was wrong." He licked his lips. "There's more to life than being the best…." There was a brief moment when his and Syd's eyes locked, but it was only a moment and then she walked on by. "…Do you understand what I'm trying to say to you?" He looked the boy in the eyes.

"….I think so. You're saying I need them, just as much as they need me."

Sky nodded his head, knowing that to be truthful himself, he probably needed his friends a lot more than they needed him. "That's right."

Willie turned to meet his friend, smiling faintly. "…Sorry I was such a jerk, guys."

"It's okay, we forgive you," Ali said, as she let go of Julie's hand and went to hug Willie.

Willie put his arms around the young girl and for the first time since he had learned about the death of his uncle, he felt like things were going to be okay for him. That even though his family was dead, he had a new family, people he knew would be there for him and forgive him when he was being a jerk. "…Okay, enough." He pulled away slightly, grinning back at Ali and then over at Julie, Kit and Eli. "Come on, let's go outside and play tag."

"I love tag!" exclaimed Eli.

Together the children ran past Sky in a much better mood than when he had found them. It felt nice to know he was able to fix things, although he had to learn from his own perspective, which was something he wished hadn't happened. He knew he could have treated his friends far better. He could have treated Syd better…. Sighing heavily, he hopped over to a place on the couch, wanting to be alone with his thoughts when…. Faintly he heard someone roll up behind him.

"….Can we talk?"

Sky didn't have to turn around to know who it was, he had known for the last couple of days that it would only be a matter of time until his father would come looking for him, since he had been avoiding him ever since he had waked up. The last week had been hard as it was, the whole ordeal with Mirloc, Cruger getting on his case yet again and on top of that his and Syd's breakup, which he was finding himself having all sorts of emotions over… ones that he hadn't thought he would be having. Sure, he was pissed with himself for how he had treated her and he missed having her around, but the thing that he had come to realize was just how much he had really cared for her, after it was over. He tried to deny what he was feeling, wanting to bury it deep inside, knowing that no matter how he felt that they couldn't go back, not after what he had done. …._She deserves a guy who she could always count on, so that no matter what, he would be there_. He kept telling himself that, because he knew he just wasn't that guy.

So with everything that had happened, he just wasn't ready to deal with another conversation that would be just as hard if not harder than his talk with Syd. "…I have to go," Sky answered, as he abruptly stood up and started to get himself positioned on his crutches, making sure to keep his back towards Wes, not wanting to make eye contact.

"Sky," Wes called after him knowing that now would be his best shot, since it wouldn't be long before his son was off the crutches and would be able to move around much faster. "…We're going to have to do this eventually, it might as well be now." He watched as Sky stopped in his tracks, but continued to have his back towards him. "Eric… He's told me everything,"

"….I bet he did," he answered flatly. He wouldn't have expected any less from Eric, maybe part of him was actually glad that Eric had told him everything.

"Believe me, I know this is hard and if there was a way I could avoid this whole conversation entirely I would." Wes rolled his wheelchair around Sky, so he was facing him. "…But I want to have a relationship with my son." He looked into the only thing that was the same about him that he remembered, his eyes, those same blue eyes that used to look at him so longingly, all those years ago.

Sky remained silent, just listening to his words, mainly because he didn't know what to say, and screaming and shouting probably wouldn't do his ribs any good. But his facial expression showed that he was still very angry and hurt.

"I know that I wasn't always there for you back when I was around." He hadn't meant for that to happen, he never intended to let work get in the way, but whenever a call came in, he just couldn't bring himself to say no. After Andros and the others, things had really fallen upon Eric and him. "…It wasn't because I didn't want to be." He licked his lips. "….You were the best _thing_ that ever happened to _me_." Wes wasn't sure if he was getting through to his son, but he was going to do everything he could to let him know just how much he really cared for him. "And I'm not just saying that because of Jen."

Sky could see that he was trying, trying with all his might, wanting him to know how much he loved him. His father, his hero, there was never a doubt in his mind that his father loved him, he had always known that. …Even though at times after he learned the truth about where he had come from, he thought otherwise. Perhaps he should let go of his anger and forgive his father, so much time had already been lost between them and he wasn't sure his heart could take the loss of another relationship so quickly. …This is what Jen, his mother wanted. She wanted them to have a relationship. She wanted him to be with his father. ….And though it would not be easy, deep down he wanted it too. Besides, could he really hold it against him for sometimes letting his job get in the way of being there for him, when he had done the same exact thing to Sydney?

"I'm so sorry, Sky…. I know you haven't had it easy."

"I did okay," he finally answered. "…It may not have been the traditional way of growing up, but I did okay." He knew things could have been far worse for him, though he and his grandfather had had some hard times, the two had managed to retain a good relationship.

Wes smiled, he knew it might take months or even years until he and Sky got back on the page of being father and son, but he didn't care how long it would take just as long as they had this. "Yeah, I would say you did pretty good considering everything you've been through. You got into the academy early, worked your ass off and became the red Ranger, along with learning a few things along the way." He looked his son in the eyes, slowly starting to see the little boy he had once known start to emerge. "I couldn't be prouder of you, son."

It seemed almost ironic to Wes that twenty years earlier that was the very thing his father had told him that he needed to hear, and now twenty years later he was telling it to his son. Maybe all he'd ever wanted was for Wes to be proud of him.

"….I love you, Sky." Wes pushed himself up from the wheelchair, ignoring the pain from his hurt leg, and put his arms around Sky.

After what seemed like an eternity, Sky put his arms around his father as he felt a few tears trickle down his face. "I love you too, Dad."

**Five years later……**

**2026**

It had been a long five years, full of heartbreak, joy, new beginnings and life. But overall it had been a good five years, even though there had been ups and downs. Jack and Ally had been married for a little more than three years and not too long after that they had their first child, a girl they named Chloe. She was two years old and the spitting image of Jack and quite the handful; like her father she had a special ability, but instead of going through walls, she could fly, which kept her parents fairly busy.

Z and Chase started dating shortly after Tommy and Kim got back together. Kim and her son, Junior, ended up moving to Reefside. The two got married, but decided not to have children; the loss of the first baby just had been too much for them to want to try again. After dating for two years, Chase finally popped the question and asked Z to marry him, which was something he hadn't been sure he could ever do after losing Callie. But Z had shown him that he could love again and be happy. The two had been married now for a little over a year and were expecting their first child and couldn't be any happier.

Bridge and Sophie, the untraditional couple, were still together, although to his friends and family they wouldn't have expected anything less. Though it took his parents a little longer to warm up to the idea of him wanting to be with a cyborg, once they got to know her and see how human she acted, they couldn't be happier for their son.

Megan and Sam, those were the two that probably had changed the most; they were nineteen and eighteen now and newly appointed Rangers, with new morphers Kat had been working on for the last few years. Of course Sam, as his friends had always known, was the Omega Ranger …their friend who had come from the future to save their future, though this Sam had no recollection that had ever happened or ever would. …And it was no surprise that Megan was the Nova Ranger, though there was a time when they all wondered, but after years of watching these two grow up together there was never any doubt.

…But one of the biggest changes came four weeks earlier, when Cruger had announced he would be taking over for the newly retired Supreme Commander Fowler Birdie, meaning he and his wife would be leaving Earth. That meant someone would be left in charge after his departure. There was only one obvious choice, and sure enough Cruger had promoted Sky to Commander, leaving him to choose who would take his place as red Ranger. There was much debate on the matter, a lot of back and forth on the issue, but Chase declined the offer and suggested that though Bridge's tactics might be a little unorthodox, that he should be promoted to red Ranger.

Although this did not mean Sky had given up being a Ranger; he planned to be right there fighting by his team's side no matter what. He ended up resurrecting the Time Force red Ranger morpher, his father's morpher, and couldn't be happier. He was proud to carry on the legacy.

….But the biggest shock of all came just shortly after Cruger had announced his imminent departure. Someone none of them thought would ever leave them had announced her two week's notice and that she would be leaving for London to go join her parents who had moved there almost three years ago. It was quite a shock to all of them ….but it seemed to hurt one of them a lot more than the others, though he wouldn't dare admit it.

The group of Rangers was in the assembly room of the academy, having a small goodbye party for their friend before she headed off to the airport. "….It is so not going to be the same without you, roomie," exclaimed Z, as she wrapped her arms around her friend.

"I know, but it's time I let you and Chase have the place to yourselves, especially with a new baby boy on the way."

"You know you're always welcome here, Sydney," said Chase as he took his turn with a hug of his own.

"Thanks. Take care of them for me."

"You have my word," he answered as he put his arm around Z, holding her close.

"…And make sure to call me when the baby comes." It wasn't easy for her to leave, especially with Z six months pregnant. She wanted to be there when the baby was born, but with her starting a new life in London, that just wouldn't be possible.

"You'll be the first one I call…."

"Hey now," exclaimed Jack. "…I thought I was going to be the first call," he joked as he walked up to Sydney and gave her a hug. "Just kidding, you can be the first call, Syd. Mind that we still share our birthdays…."

"You got it." Syd hugged her friend tight.

"Mommy, why does Daddy get two birthdays?" asked Chloe as she clung to her mother's leg. That got a laugh out of everyone. Though they all knew the reason, Chloe was still a little too young to understand.

"…Chloe, come give your Aunt Sydney a hug." Syd knelt down to open her arms up for her young niece.

Chloe ran into Syd's arms, throwing her arms around her. "….Bye… Bye, Aunt Sydney, I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, sweetie." She pressed a kiss to the young girl's cheek.

Megan and Sam were the next to step forward, after Syd had hugged Ally goodbye. She still couldn't get over how much the two had grown up and how close the two had gotten, though both would deny there was anything but friendship between them. Megan more so than Sam, but perhaps in a couple of years that would all change.

"You two be careful now, I don't want to be getting any calls about either one of you getting hurt."

"Don't worry Syd, we'll be okay," smiled Megan, as she hugged her friend goodbye, a tear rolling down her cheek because she didn't want her to go. "Besides, how much more trouble could we possibly get ourselves into?"

"I sure you'll find a way." Syd had to laugh at that, knowing that the two had been in trouble more than once over the course of these last five years. "….And Sam, please keep an eye on Megan when you're out there. We both know how she can get," she said as she hugged her young friend goodbye.

"I plan on not letting her out of my sight," he answered, as he returned the hug.

Next it was Bridge's turn, her longtime friend, her little brother, though they weren't that far apart in age. "Take care of yourself, Bridge, make sure to tell Sophie goodbye for me." She hugged him tight. "…And don't let being red Ranger go to your head."

"I'll try not to, Syd."

She continued to hug him a little longer as if trying to prolong her leaving, hoping that the one person she hadn't said goodbye to would show up. "…I guess he isn't coming." She smiled faintly as she pulled away from Bridge.

"He…." But Bridge stopped himself, the last thing Syd needed was for him to make some excuse for Sky, as to why he wasn't here. "…I'm sorry, Syd; I know you wanted him to be here."

"It's all right. It's not you guy's fault." She sighed heavily. "…Besides, Sky and I haven't been that close in a while, it's totally understandable."

"You sure?' asked Z, looking into her friend's eyes.

"….Yeah." Syd forced a smile. She looked at her watch. "….Well, I should get going if I want to beat the traffic, my parents set it up so my flight would leave from Silver Hills." She glanced at them longingly, she wasn't sure when she would see them next, only that it probably wouldn't be for a while. "I love all of you." With those final words, Sydney Drew, the former pink Ranger, slipped out of the room.

"I am so going to kill that asshole!" exclaimed Z. "…We told him about the going-away party, he should have been here."

"Easy, honey." Chase put his arms around Z, wanting to calm her down. "Remember what the doctor said." He kissed her on the cheek. "…But if it will make you happy, I'll kick his ass for you."

"I knew I married you for a reason," grinned Z.

"And all this time I thought it was my good looks."

"…Oh brother," groaned Megan, as she rolled her eyes. "Again with the lovey-dovey."

"Oh, just wait until you're in love," smirked Chase.

"Ha ha." She gave him a dirty look. "Very funny."

About a half hour later, while they were cleaning up after the party, low and behold …Sky showed up. Late! "…Well, look who decided to show up!" exclaimed Z, darting her eyes at her newly appointed Commander.

"Sorry, I had to run a course with a group of the C-squad cadets."

"Bullshit, Sky!" yelled Z. "….You weren't on duty today or for the rest of the week for that matter, Kat had said she'd keep an eye on things today."

"Look, I said I was sorry…" he snapped, not liking her tone.

"….Easy, Z," announced Chase, not wanting his wife to overdo it, though Sky did deserve a good yelling at. They, along with Megan, were all that remained in the room. Jack and Ally had taken Chloe home for her nap, Bridge had to go meet Sophie so they could get ready to go have dinner with his parents, and Sam had to go help out some D-squad cadets.

"She wanted you to be here, Sky!" She got into his face. "….She wanted to see you, but you let her down." She crossed her arms against her chest. "But why should I be surprised?"

And that did it, something snapped inside of Sky. "Look! I don't get what the big deal is. It's not like we've hung out at all in the last few years."

"And whose fault is that?" She eyed him. "…Not hers. That's for sure."

"Look, just drop it Z."

"…Or what?" she barked back at him.

"Okay…." Chase decided it was time for him to play peacemaker, before things really got out of hand. He pulled Z away and forced her to sit down. "I think that's enough for now."

"Thanks, at least someone has some sense."

Chase laughed and turned to Sky. "Oh, I didn't do it for her sake, I did it for yours. If there's one thing I've learned in the last six months, you do not want to piss off a pregnant woman." Chase looked Sky hard in the eyes. "She was really hurt that you weren't here, Sky, we all saw it."

"…He's right," added Megan who joined in. "She even asked me if I knew where you were during the party."

Sky sighed heavily; he had known all day he had screwed up by making a point not to show up and only come after when he knew Syd would be gone. "All right. You're all right, I should have been here, but there's nothing I can do about it now."

"Wrong." Z pulled something out of the bag that was next to her on the floor and pulled out a shaggy grey stuffed animal and tossed it to Sky.

Sky caught it. "Peanuts?" He looked over at Z, questioning her. "….I know Syd; she wouldn't have forgotten him."

"You're right." A wicked grin came over Z's face. "Which is why when she wasn't looking I pulled it out of her bag and hid it, because I knew you were going to be a dumbass and not show up."

"…And what exactly am I supposed to do with it now?" he exclaimed.

"I thought it was obvious, Sherlock."

"I… I can't."

"Why not?" Megan crossed her arms against her chest. "You're heading to Silver Hills anyways, to spend the weekend with your dad. The airport is what …fifteen minutes from the mansion?"

He was started to become frustrated, not liking where this was going and what they were all bullying him into doing. "…Why should I go?" He looked them in the eyes. "What good would it do?"

"Well, for one, maybe you could tell her what we all already know," said Chase.

Sky didn't answer right away, he sighed heavily. "Whether I do or if I don't, it doesn't change things." He licked his lips. "…Besides, we all know that she deserves someone better."

"Who are you trying to fool, Sky?" asked Chase, as he looked his friend in the eyes. "Us? ….Or yourself?"

"There's something you should know, Sky….." Though she had promised she would never tell, Z thought that given the situation she would have to break her promise. "She still loves you…"

Sky sighed heavily, unsure of whether to believe what Z just told him. Why would Sydney still love him? He had treated her worse than dirt; he didn't deserve her love or anything….

* * *

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" he muttered to himself, as he sat on the couch of his father's mansion with Syd's favorite stuffed animal in his lap. Syd would be going on that airplane soon and he knew that there was a probably a good chance he wouldn't see her again.

He held the stuffed animal close to him, taking in its scent, trying to remember what Syd smelt like. It seemed so long ago since he had held her in his arms. "It's five years later and we're barely even friends." He sighed heavily, knowing he had really screwed things up. He had thought there would always be time for him and Syd to work things out, get back on track ….but he had avoided it altogether.

"Not that I have any objections, but aren't you a little old for stuffed animals?" announced Wes as he walked down the stairs and headed into the living room to go join his son, taking a seat across from him.

"It's Syd's." Sky planted it on the empty seat next to him. "…Z and the others seem to think I'm in love with her." He ran his hand over his face. "…Ridiculous, isn't it?"

Wes sighed heavily, feeling helpless and not quite sure what to say or do. He himself had never had much luck with love; things with him and Lisa never were how they should have been. And then with Jen and him, things had been complicated with them, the time difference, nothing ever working out in their favor, much like his relationship with his son. They had to get to know each other all over again and start again. "I don't know if I call it ridiculous." Wes got up from his seat and went to sit down next to his son and patted him on the shoulder. "….And maybe I'm not the best person to be talking about this, but if there is one thing I know, it's that it's never good to leave things left unsaid." He picked up the stuffed animal. "…If there's something you've been needing to tell her, you need to tell her soon." He placed Peanuts in Sky's lap. "Otherwise you'll end up regretting that you didn't."

"….I don't deserve, her." He turned to his father. "Not even as a friend."

"Shouldn't you let her decide that?" He gripped his son's shoulder. "…Look, I can't tell you what to do, but I think I know you well enough now to know you'll do what you think is best…" With that said, Wes gave him a faint smile and got up, leaving Sky once again alone in the living room with his thoughts.

…_.Ah, what the hell. It's not like I can make matters worse… _Sky stared the stuffed animal in the face. "…Guess we can't let her leave you behind."


	36. Epilogue

Sky ran through the airport like his life depended on it, knowing that Sydney's flight could leave any minute. He ended up having to buy a plane ticket just so he could get past the gate; he hadn't cared about the cost of it, even if he wasn't the son of a millionaire he wouldn't have cared. He would have paid any amount of money just so he could see her one last time. "Syd!" he called out, seeing a line of people heading towards the gate where he was told that she would be. "Sydney!" he shouted.

"Is there a problem, sir?" asked one of the airport officers. "I'm going to have to ask you to sit down and wait until your flight is called."

"I'm looking for a friend," Sky answered as he continued to search through the crowd for a young blonde girl. "Sydney!"

"Sir! Please…." He started to grab at Sky's shoulder, needing him to calm down, but the young SPD commander pushed on by him when he spotted a young woman with bright blonde hair wearing a pink sweater.

"Sydney!" Sky grabbed the young woman by the shoulder, as she was about to hand her ticket to the ticket attendant.

"Sky?" Syd turned to meet his face. "What are you doing here?" The last thing she was expecting was for him to show up; in fact the very idea had never crossed her mind. Sky had pretty much kept his distance from her and they had rarely spoken for the last two weeks after she put in her notice that she was leaving SPD. And after he didn't show at her goodbye party, she figured she wouldn't be seeing him period.

"Sir! I'm going to need to ask you to come with me," announced the airport officer.

"In a minute," Sky snapped as he glared at the officer, giving him his hard demanding look that said he didn't want to be messed with.

"It's okay, Officer. I know him," she assured him. "Maybe you've heard of Commander Schuyler Tate." The last thing she needed to have on her shoulders was to be leaving here and then Sky getting himself into big trouble with airport security.

"The new appointed SPD Commander?" He looked at Sky. "I'm sorry, sir. If you had just said who you were I would have been able to help you locate her."

"I'll remember that for next time," remarked Sky, sharply eyeing him, letting him know that he wanted him to leave so that he could have a moment alone with Syd before she had to get on the plane.

Getting the hint that Sky was going to beat him if he didn't leave, "I'll leave you to your girlfriend…."

"….Oh, I'm not his _girlfriend_," remarked Syd all too quickly.

"Oh." He looked to Sky, getting a sense that there was more going on here, but getting into lover's quarrels wasn't part of his job description so for now he was just going to back off and let the two work out whatever they needed.

"So, what are you doing here?" She eyed him sharply. "You haven't exactly said as much as two words to me in the past two weeks, and then you weren't at the goodbye party today," she questioned him, "…and now you come running here, making a scene, calling out my name like a madman."

"…You forgot this." He held up Peanuts to her. He mentally kicked himself in the head, knowing that he should have said something better than that, but she had been right, he hadn't been very friendly with her lately. And he should have been at the goodbye party ….instead of taking a group of junior cadets out for a run on the course.

"Peanuts?" Sydney glared at her stuffed animal. "I was sure I packed him."

"….Z found him on the floor and then handed him off to me."

"And you came all the way here for that? ….You could have just mailed him." She was more than a little surprised that Sky would go to all that trouble just to return her silly stuffed animal.

"I was going to be in town anyways, spending the weekend with my dad." Though that was true, it hadn't been the real reason why he had shown up, but from the way she had reacted when airport security had thought that she was his girlfriend, he wasn't sure what she wanted from him.

"Oh, that's great!" she exclaimed, knowing that it had been a long road for Sky to rebuild a relationship with his father. She was happy that the two were finally starting to become more like father and son. "It's good that you and your father are becoming closer."

"Yeah. It is…."

"Ma'am," announced the ticket taker, tapping Syd on the shoulder. "You need to board the plane in the next few minutes."

Syd nodded her head and smiled, letting her know she understood. She then turned her attention back to Sky. "Thanks for bringing me Peanuts; you know how much I love him."

"…Yeah. Couldn't let you go without _him_." Sky handed him to her, looking into her eyes, doing his best to control his emotions.

"Well, I should be going, before they leave without me."

"Yeah. Couldn't have that…."

"Take care of yourself, Sky." She put her arms around him, embracing him in her arms. It had been the first time since their breakup that they had been this close to each other, in a way it felt strange to be holding him this close, but at the same time it felt like something that had been missing.

"You too," he answered as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. He felt a tear leak out from his eye, but quickly got rid of it before he pulled away from Syd, so she wouldn't see.

"So I guess this is it. I'm going to London, I always wanted to go there, see the world. It'll be a new adventure."

And as he stared into her bright blue eyes, there were so many things he wanted to tell her… He wanted to tell her to stay, that SPD wouldn't be the same without her, that the team still needed her ….that _he_ still needed her and didn't want her to go, but the excited look on her face as she told him how happy she was at starting her new life, so that she could finally put what had happened between them behind her. He just couldn't take that away from her, he had already taken so much from her. How could he ask her to give all of that up? It wouldn't be fair, especially not after how he had treated her, while they were together and even after they had broken up. He didn't have the right to ask her to stay. "Goodbye, Sydney."

Syd smiled, as she backed away slowly. She couldn't quite place it but there was something in his eyes, something he wasn't telling her, but she needed to get on the plane or it would leave without her. She turned around and headed towards the gate to get onto her plane.

All Sky could do was watch as she walked out of his life ….but perhaps he had already done that, he had walked out on her, pushed her away. He wanted to go after her, stop her from ever leaving, but he just couldn't bring himself to do that. After a few minutes of standing in the same exact spot where Sydney had left him, the young commander wandered over to watch the plane take off.

Sky watched out the airport windows, watching as the woman he cared about slipped through his fingers, just as he had let her five years ago. And just like then he had never told her the truth about his feelings. He always let something get in the way, whether it had been his pride, his anger, his duties, his commitment to SPD or his _fears_… Every damn time he had let one or all of them get in the way. He kept on telling himself that he didn't deserve her, she deserved far better then he could have ever given her. He leaned his hand against the windows bowing his head down, unable to watch as the plane disappeared into the sky, taking her away for what could be a very long time. And even if she did come back for a visit, things wouldn't have changed. Things hadn't changed for the last five years. Ever since their relationship had come crashing down, they weren't really even friends. Just teammates …..and now they weren't even that. He had lost her in more ways than one and he knew deep down it had been his own damn fault. _You have no one but yourself to blame for this one, Tate._

He sighed heavily, as he cleared his throat, pushing away his sorrows. "I never even told her…" he whispered, just barely.

"Told me what?"

Sky's eyes widened. He thought he was just hearing things, just imagining. He had seen the plane take off, taking her with it. There was no possible way that she could still be here. But then he heard the voice again. He forced himself to turn around, needing to prove to himself that she wasn't there, but when he finally looked he couldn't believe it. There she was, standing in front of him, holding Peanuts to her chest. "Syd…." he managed to say. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you on the plane?"

"You tell me…." She stared at him hard in the eyes. She needed to hear from him why she had gotten off that plane, nearly having to put up a fight with the flight attendants to do so, because even she herself wasn't sure why she had gotten off. Five years before she had put everything that had happened between her and Sky behind her, believing that there was nothing left between them or at least that was what she had come to accept during that time. "Sky, what didn't you tell me? Because I know you, you wouldn't have driven all the way here just to give me some stupid stuffed animal."

But Sky made no attempt to answer her question. He just stood there like a stone wall staring at her. The last thing he was expecting was for her to get off the plane. And he couldn't find the words for what he wanted to say to her.

Syd couldn't believe this, well actually she could, this was just like Sky, but this hadn't been the Sky she had wanted to see. "You selfish, arrogant, pride-filled, bastard!" She slapped him across the face, feeling the sting from her hand. She was so angry and upset with him, her eyes filled with tears and all Sky would do was just stand there, ignoring the stinging pain from his cheek. "I did not get off that plane just so you could stand there and put up your wall," she choked. She had thought that he had changed, that he had finally come to his senses, but this made it the all more clear that she had been wrong, Sky hadn't changed at all. "It's no wonder no girl would ever go out with you. They all have enough sense not to. I was the only one stupid enough to think that you could actually change your ways, but I guess I'm just another dumb blonde." She hardened her eyes, but sadness was behind them. "….I feel sorry for you, Sky, because one day you will be all alone."

"Syd, wait-" he started to say, but only to have the beautiful angry blonde woman cut him off.

"No!" she snapped. "You don't get to talk yourself out of this one." She pointed her finger at him. "Not this time. This time I'm walking out on _you_." Her words were cold and cruel, but she wasn't about to let him hurt her heart again. She had already made the mistake by getting off that plane thinking that things would be different. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to see about catching another flight and then having to call my parents and telling them I'm going to be late."

Sky watched as Syd stormed off into the direction of the ticketing counter. _Tate, you're such an idiot_. He had screwed up once again with her. This had not been the way he had planned things to go between them when he had decided to come to the airport to stop her from leaving, but he had let his pride get between them, not being willing enough to be the first to come forward. He could feel all eyes on him, of bystanders who had all watched as things between him and Syd unraveled. He wanted to shout out loud, but knew that wouldn't do much good. It would only show just how much of a jerk he had been. Knowing that this might be his last shot at anything with Syd he went after her, but knew this time he couldn't shut her out.

"Sydney!" he shouted and then spotted her over at the ticket booth talking with the lady working at the desk. He ran over to her. "Syd, wait!"

"I told you. I'm done here," shrugging him off. "I'm done with you."

"Okay, Miss Drew, the next flight for London leaves in six hours; shall I go ahead with the ticket?"

"Ye-"

"Hold on a second!" Sky grabbed a hold of Syd and moved her to the side.

"Sky, what the hell are you doing?" She tried to break free of the grip he had around her wrist. "Let go of me!" Her pleas were frantic enough that airport security decided to see what all the ruckus was about.

"Is there a problem here, Miss?" asked one of the guards as he looked from Sky back to her.

"No, Officer, there isn't." She glared at Sky hard. "Is there, Sky?"

"Just hear me out! …Please," he pleaded. "If you don't like what I have to say, then I'll go and you never have to speak to or see me again."

Syd sighed heavily, after everything the two had been through together, she did at least owe him that much. "All right. But you better talk this time, because this is your last shot." She was very firm with her words, she wasn't about to let him walk all over her as she had five years ago.

The two made their way over to a small bar area where they could sit and talk and have a little privacy, without any disruptions. Syd had already called her parents and told them that she had missed the flight and would get in contact with them as soon as she knew anything. She didn't dare bring Sky into the conversation, not wanting her parents to know she had missed the flight on a non-refundable ticket over some guy, especially when _that _guy was her ex. "Okay, start talking," she ordered him, as she put her cellphone into her purse.

He wasn't even sure where he was supposed to start. There was so much that needed to be said, things that should have been said a long time ago, but he had always been too proud to let his guard down and open up to her.

"I knew this was a bad idea…." Syd exclaimed as she got up from her seat.

"Wait." Sky reached out grabbing her wrist.

"I've already spent too much time waiting on you to make up your mind." She was tired, all she had done was wait and she just couldn't do it any longer.

"Damnit Syd! Do you think this is easy for me?" He stared her in the eyes; this was the hardest thing he had ever done in his life, besides reconnecting with his father which had been a very long and difficult road.

"It's not supposed to be _easy_," she responded as she sat back down, hoping that finally he would open up to her about what he was feeling. "…Do you think it's been easy for me?"

"I know." He sighed heavily. "And I know that these past five years have been hell on you. We have been more like strangers than friends." He bowed his head for a moment before meeting her eyes. "And that's my fault. I let what happened between us destroy everything that we ever were or ever could be."

"Yeah, you did. And that hurt even more than our breakup." Not only had she lost her boyfriend, but she had lost a good friend. "You really hurt me, Sky…"

"I wish there was something that I could say to change what happened, but there isn't. The only thing I can tell you is why, back then I didn't really understand it, but I do now."

"Okay. I'm listening."

He cleared his throat, knowing this was going to be hard for him. He never liked opening up or telling others his problems, he had always kept them locked away, not wanting to deal with it, but in doing so he ended up hurting those around him.

"….Relationships and I have never gone well together. I always had people either dying or leaving all around me. I felt abandoned and betrayed. I felt like I was losing control of everything around me." He gulped in heavily. "And I guess I was afraid to let anyone else in again, afraid of trusting my heart, because it seemed that everyone that I had in my life had let me down in some way."

And just as she had always suspected, he had admitted the one thing about himself that she had always known about him. The reason why he had put up his walls, to prevent anyone from coming in. People he loved died before they should have, people who promised to always be there for him had left him and then there was the betrayal of Dru, Sky's former best friend. That hurt Sky a lot more than he was ever going to admit. He was right; many of the relationships he had with someone had somehow ended in tragedy, it was only natural for him to want to pull away and not to deal. But what she couldn't understand was why he felt that she would have hurt him like that. "Did you really think I would have hurt you? Did you really believe I or the others would betray you like Dru had?"

"….I honestly don't know. I was so driven with anger for everything that had happened in my life, that I didn't know what to think." It was a difficult road for him to get over the majority of what had happened in his life, but with the help of his father, Eric, and even Drake, he was able to get past it. "It was just easier for me keeping everyone at a distance, that's why I put all my concentration into SPD, being the best." He sighed heavily. "…Back then I thought as long as I had SPD, I didn't need anything else in my life." He bit his lips and looked into her eyes. "But then you and the others happened…. And I realized that what I really needed was to have people in my life."

Syd reached out to take Sky's hand into her own, holding it tight. "Thank you for telling me. I've waited a long time for you to say that."

"I've been needing to say it for a long time." He bit his lip. "Especially to you." He reached across the table to brush a blonde curl out of Syd face, looking into her eyes in a way he had never really done before, there was more warmth to it, instead of cold distance. "I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with …I can be a real jackass, that I miss dates, that I let work get in the way, and that I'm not the most romantic guy." He looked into her eyes. "But the one thing I do know is that ….I love you, Sydney." He pulled his hand away. "I know I'm five years too late, but I needed you to know that before you leave, because I don't know when or where or if I'll see you again." He smiled faintly and got up from his seat. He had said everything he had come here to say; there was nothing else, except for: "Have a safe flight, Sydney." He gripped her shoulder gently. "….All I want now is for you to be happy."

He was getting ready to leave, until Syd stood up and stopped him, looking at him face to face. "….Who says you're five years too late?"

Sky's eyes widened as if he wasn't sure he had heard her right, but the look in her eyes said it all. "Syd. Wh-wha…."

She put a finger to his lips to hush him. "No, you've done enough talking, now it's my turn." She stared him in the eyes. Even after all this time, everything they'd been through, she couldn't deny one thing. Maybe she was stupid, because it hadn't worked out the first time, in fact it had ended horribly, but in that moment she didn't care. All that mattered to her were those three years that she had waited for him to say it. "I love you, too."

He couldn't believe what he had heard, after everything he had done to her, the way he had treated her. She still loved him. But could they really jump back into a relationship, after a history such as theirs? Was it even possible? "I…I don't know what to say. How….Wh-what about London, your parents? All your plans?"

"A girl's allowed to change her mind." She reached up to wrap her arms around him, to pull him down closer to her.

He looked her in the eyes, becoming very serious with his words. "Have you really thought about this? I've told you…."

"I know. SPD, being both a Ranger and Commander, it's important to you." She looked him in the eyes, knowing that, yes, there would be times when his work at SPD would come first, especially since now he was in charge of the Earth base. At twenty-six years old he had a lot of responsibility put onto his shoulders. But she couldn't help how she felt about him, this was what she had wanted for so long and she was willing to work at it, if he was up for the challenge. "But I want to try to again and I know things will be different."

Sky smiled, he knew he didn't deserve a second chance with her, but he wasn't about to let it go. He would do everything in his power to make sure this time things were a lot different. _Damn sure_. "….Thank you."

"For what?" Her bright blue eyes sparkled.

"For never giving up on me." He brushed his thumb against her cheek and then her lips. "You always believed in me, Syd, you saw the side of me that I was always afraid to show." The two looked each other in the eyes, full of love and a new beginning. And for what had seemed like an eternity, Sky pressed his lips to Syd's, it was a kiss of many kisses to come. They didn't know what the future would hold or even what tomorrow would bring, but that didn't seem to matter to them, all that mattered was now, as they held each other, ignoring everything that was going on around them.

"…..You know there is one problem though," Syd said a little breathlessly, as they pulled away slightly.

"And what's that?"

"I don't have a place to live."

Sky smiled as he caressed her cheek. "…I think we can solve that problem. I happen to have a three bedroom apartment, with two empty rooms."

"That could work." She kissed him lightly on the lips. "…As long as we take things slow, get to know each other better." Maybe that had been one of the problems the first time around, in one moment they had gone from friends to something more, before they really had a chance to get to know each other.

"I think I'd like that." He was about to return one of her kisses with one of his own, when his cellphone started ringing. He smiled faintly at her. "…Sorry." Sky turned away and answered the phone. "….Dad?" He ran his hand down the back of his head. "Dinner?" He looked over at Sydney who was smiling back at him. "…Yeah. You better set an extra plate. …..Yeah… We'll see you soon. …Bye." He closed the cellphone and put it back on his belt.

"So I take it we're having dinner with your father?" She wrapped her arms around him.

"…If it's okay with you."

"Depends." She grinned, toying with him a bit. "….What are you having for dinner?"

Sky didn't answer; he just smiled back at her, knowing he should be grateful that out of all the guys she could have that she had chosen him. He took her hand in his and the two started on their way. They knew their future might not be perfect …nothing ever is, there would be ups and downs, and a few arguments here and there, but they also knew that it wouldn't be imperfect either, all they could do was give it their best shot and see where life takes them…. And just maybe this time around they would find what they both had been searching for.


End file.
